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regrettablewritings · 4 years ago

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Fluff alphabet for Tadashi Hamada if you're stil writing for him, please. B, c,s w?

Indeed, I do still write for the lovely lad. Stuff is below the cut

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?):

Oh, most definitely. Tadashi is a very family-oriented man. Always has been, always will be. So it’s no surprise that he looks forward to the day he can start his own little branch of the Hamada family tree. We’ve already seen how he is with Hiro: He’s protective, he’s encouraging, he’s inspiring, he’s good at getting him to do things he may not want to do even if it’s for his own benefit -- imagine what wonders he could do if those traits were applied to a little mini-him or mini-you or mini-you-both!

Honestly, the subject goes more or less unspoken between you two because it’s kind of a given that Tadashi wants kids. You two would be taking a walk in the park or going to the mall and the moment a stroller passes by, he’s barely playing off how much he’s trying to crane his neck to gaze upon the chubby wonder resting inside. You can see the disappointment in his eyes when he fails. Some days when you’re just at the Lucky Cat trying to get some homework done, you’ll glance up and see him at a table with a baby at it, speaking all kinds of sweet words to them. You’ve seen his favorites playlist on Youtube -- it has a decade-old commercial for Legal Zoom on it. When you questioned why it was there in the first place, you had to witness your adoring boyfriend sheepishly admit that the baby in it was just too cute. And also he liked the pale purple walls and thought it’d make for good inspiration.

“Good inspiration for . . .?” you led, knowing exactly where it was headed. You watched at Tadashi’s eyes wandered and his cheeks and ears reddened.

“For . . . a nursery . . .” he responded. It was a mumble, but you heard everything you needed to know loud and clear.

Well, not everything, of course: You asked him what exactly he envisioned for the future.

He admitted he wasn’t exactly particular about whether he wanted a boy or a girl, let alone first or second -- he just knew he would like at least two children so neither one would be lonely. Corny and cheesy as it was, he would’ve preferred to live somewhere a little closer to the suburbs (“Hey, at least I don’t expect a white picket fence!” he justified). His reasoning being that he’d like a nice, quiet area in which many parks and libraries and schools can be accessible, and so any children of yours have room to grow. However, given the structure of the area, he knew that this was going to be a tough call for a multitude of reasons.

Bottom line, though, he’d be okay with living in the city if it meant he could still provide for you and your hypothetical kids the best he could. He just wants to make sure everyone is happy and healthy. But for now, he’s content with it just being the two of you . . . Emphasis on “for now.”

C = Cuddles (How do they cuddle?):

Usually with a prayer that Hiro doesn’t barge in. No, seriously: That bedroom of theirs offers only the most courteous of privacies by way of a tasteful but otherwise unpersuasive shoji. You want Hiro to see you guys trying to get cozy about as much as Hiro does -- which is not at all, given how he pretends to throw up every time he’s walked in on you two. And how he’s voiced his dislike of it.

Given that Tadashi is ever the caring brother and roommate, he can only get away with so many dry, “You don’t have to be here”s before he just feels bad about it. As a result, the two of you have actually had to create a cuddling schedule built with Hiro’s course times, your availability, and Tadashi’s availability in mind. And God forbid Hiro ever finds out about that schedule because all he needs is one more reason to call the both of you Ultra Nerds.

Worse-case scenario, you two get booted out and have to make do with the couch in the garage, cramped as it is. But you don’t mind: Usually, the reason you two are cuddling is because you’re so butt-tired from coursework that you need to relax and zonk out for a couple hours. Besides, for as lanky and more muscle-based as a guy like Tadashi is, his arm wrapped around you is unfairly warm and comforting. You’re bound to be conked out before you can even utter a complaint, or at the very least you’re way too relaxed to register the fact that you’re both awkwardly strewn about the furniture.

So if it had to be put in a different way (and less about worrying somebody might barge in), you supposed you could describe your cuddling as being the snug equivalent to how a college student eats, sleeps, or lives altogether: You both take what you can get when you can get it and try to enjoy it before it’s time to go to your next “adult obligation.”

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?):

Tadashi is a pretty optimistic person so it’s actually hard to get him completely down, let alone long enough for him to actually require a pick-me-up bigger than a brief inner pep talk. Normally all he needs to do is have a quiet moment to himself, some time to cool down, maybe remind himself that things can and will get better. But in the odd moment where this isn’t enough, Tadashi will often turn to his interests.

However, don’t assume this means he’ll hunker down in his lab and focus on one of his projects: He’s long since learned that it’s best to not robotically engineer with sad or frustrated -- way too many power outages have occurred from that.

Instead, he turns to his other hobbies: Living with Aunt Cass means he’s been knowing how to bake for years, albeit the baked fruits of his labors don’t always come out prettily; depending on how free his schedule is (read: not very at all anymore), he may go find a location to go surfing; or he goes to a park to get, like, a cart crepe. Usually being outside in a sunny place (with plenty of puppies and babies around) zaps him back to normal.

Which leaves him with plenty of time to figure out how to cheer you up!

Given his nature, Tadashi has become a wiz at cheering others up. He’s just got this nearly contagious brightness about him. And even if you don’t find yourself as readily bright as he, don’t worry: He’s not afraid to pull old tried-and-trues on you. Being an older brother/almost fatherly figure has allowed him the perfect position to perfect his trade: That is, the art of being goofy for the sake of cheering up his loved ones. He will easily pick you up and jump around with you, hollering about how he’s going to “turn that frown upside-down” -- by actually holding you upside-down.

Not your cup of tea? Then be prepared to witness the most tragic case of Dad Dancing ever recorded in a man below the age of 30, complete with cheesy disco music. You will be forced to witness his arms flailing, head bopping, mouth performing what you had once heard being referred to as “The White Man’s Overbite”. You will beg that he stop “for the love of Mochi.” You will try to have your pleas be heard over the speaker blaring “Got to Be Real” by Cheryl Lynn, only to be further drowned out by your boyfriend’s tone-deaf singing.

But the man will not stop: He must dance in your honor.

And once you’re done wiping away the tears left from cackling, he’ll treat you to some froyo.

If this still doesn’t work, there’s the slightest chance he might pull out the big guns: Tickling. It’s reserved strictly as a worst-case scenario, but he’s going to dance until his feet bleed if he can help it before he has to do that again. The last time he resorted to tickling a little too eagerly, it . . . didn’t end well.

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?):

When? A balmy evening in May. How? With a bit of difficulty. Mind you, Tadashi is a generally organized man on the average day. But on the day he proposes to you – heck, the days leading up to it? He’s a bit of a mess. And it’s in no small part due to how incredibly involved his friends and family had tried to be the entire time.

Make no mistake, he’s very glad that he has such supportive loved ones. However, he found himself constantly fighting off a heart attack every time one of them treaded the line a little too closely for his comfort. (Sure, there’s little suspicion in Honey gushing over wedding magazines with you or Aunt Cass asking you to sample a “brand new wedding cake flavor” she was planning to use for some pastries, but Wasabi asking about your ring size and Fred talking about how kaiju costumes were better than tuxes until GoGo had to slam him down really wasn’t exactly inconspicuous.)

Hiro might’ve been the closest thing to normal throughout it all, much to the elder Hamada brother’s surprise. But even then, he was more of less gesturing for Tadashi to just go ahead and pop the question – albeit, at the most inopportune times in the latter’s honest opinion.

“I can’t propose to my girlfriend in the campus library!” Tadashi rejected Monday.

“There’s nothing romantic about being in the middle of a pizzeria and going, ‘Hey, will you marry me?’” he scoffed on Wednesday.

“Hiro, if you ever propose to somebody in front of a mall fountain, then I’ve failed you,” came his dry response Saturday. He knew his younger brother meant no harm by applying the lightest of pressures; he just wanted all the anxieties over with! But this was you Tadashi was proposing to: You deserved only the best. Only the most heartfelt . . . Which was why, in the end, the where of it all was the Lucky Cat Café. Was it the fanciest establishment he could have done it in? Not really. Thankfully, Aunt Cass was all too eager to oblige his request to have the café to yourselves one evening; it allowed him to properly decorate your favorite table with a tablecloth and a bouquet of your favorite flowers. It was admittedly a tad cheesy, but you certainly didn’t mind it.

But this was where Tadashi had grown up. It was where his family – the core of his being – was, where his friends congregated to relax. This was his home in so many ways and if he was to invite you into his family, he wanted it to be done here. Even if it meant Aunt Cass and Hiro were not too discreetly peeking out from the back. Or that the entire time Tadashi was trying to recite his proposal speech, he kept getting distracted by your friends, whose faces were mashed against a window behind you, waiting to bear witness to this milestone.

Suffice to say, it was a very group-oriented situation. But neither you nor Tadashi would have had anything less.

Thank you for your patience!

#tadashi hamada #tadashi hamada x reader #tadashi hamada imagine #big hero 6 imagine #big hero 6 imagines #tadashi hamada headcanons #regrettablewritings #fluff alphabet #fluff headcanons

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rocknvaughn · 4 years ago

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New Colin Morgan Interview with Edge Media Network about Benjamin - UPDATED

I am reblogging this because, after the author was made aware of an error in the posting of his article (if anyone clicked through to read it on the site, there was a whole question and answer that was repeated), the error was corrected and another three questions and answers were added! I am correcting it here, but they were very interesting, so I suggest you read the full article again!

I shall post the link at the bottom, but I wanted to type it out so that non-English speakers could more easily translate it. (This article was listed in their “Gay News” section of the site, hence the focus on the gay roles.)

British Actor Colin Morgan: How the Queerly Idiosyncratic ‘Benjamin’ Spoke to Him

by Frank J. Avelia

In writer-director Simon Amstell’s sweet, idiosyncratic, semi-autobiographical comedy, “Benjamin,” Colin Morgan plays the titular character, an insecure filmmaker trying to resuscitate his waning career (at least it’s waning in his mind) after one major cine-indie success. Benjamin is also doing his best to navigate a new relationship with a young French musician (Phenix Brossard of “Departures”).

Thanks to the truly endearing, multifaceted talents of Morgan, Benjamin feels like an authentic creation--one that most audiences can empathize with. Sure, he’s peculiar, has a legion of self-esteem issues and an almost exasperating need for acceptance as well as an inconvenient talent to self-sabotage the good in his life. But who can’t relate to some or all of that?

“Benjamin” is one of the better queer-themed films to come out in recent years, in large part because it eschews emphasis on the queer nature of the story. Instead, the film is a fascinating character study with Morgan slowly revealing layers and unpacking Benjamin’s emotional baggage.

Morgan is a major talent who has been appearing across mediums in Britain for many years. His London theatre debut was in DBC Pierre’s satire, “Vernon God Little” (2007), followed by the stage adaptation of Pedro Almodovar’s “All About My Mother” (2007), opposite Diana Rigg. Numerous and eclectic stage work followed (right up until the Corona shutdown) including Pedro Miguel Rozo’s “Our Private Life” (2011), where he played a bipolar gay, Jez Butterworth’s dark comedy, “Mojo” (2013), Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” opposite Sally Field (2019), and Caryl Churchill’s “A Number” (2020), to name a few.

His TV work includes, “Merlin” (playing the wizard himself), “Humans” and most recently, in a very memorable episode of “The Crown”. Onscreen he can be seen in “Testament of Youth”, “Legend” with Tom Hardy, “Snow White and the Huntsman” and Rupert Everett’s take on Oscar Wilde, “The Happy Prince.”

He’s played a host of gay roles in the past on stage, screen and TV.

EDGE recently interviewed the star of “Benjamin” about the new film and his career.

Why Benjamin?

EDGE: What drew you to this project and were you part of its development?

Colin Morgan: It’s always the strength of the script for me on any project and Simon’s script was just so well observed, he managed to combine humor and poignancy in delicate measure and when I first read it I found myself being both tickled and touched. Then reading it again and from “the actor” POV... I knew it would be a real challenge and uncharted territory for me to explore. I auditioned for Simon and we tried it in different ways and then when I was lucky enough for Simon to want me on board, we began to work through the script together, because it was clear that this was going to be a very close working relationship... it was important for the level of trust to be high.

EDGE: I appreciated that this was a queer love story where the character’s queerness wasn’t the main focus. Was that also part of the allure of the project?

CM: I think Benjamin’s sexuality is just quite naturally who he is and therefore that’s a given, we’re on his journey to find meaning and love and there’s certainly a freshness to what Simon has written in not making sexuality the main focus.

Great chemistry

EDGE: Can you speak a but about the process involved in working with Amstell on the character and his journey?

CM: Simon and me worked very closely over a period of weeks, at that time prior to shooting I was doing a theatre project not far from where he lived so I would go to him and rehearse and discuss through the whole script all afternoon before going to do the show that night, so that worked out well. It’s so personal to Simon, and to have had him as my guide and source throughout was fantastic because I could ask him all the questions and he could be the best barometer for the truth of the character; a rare opportunity for an actor and one that was so essential for building Benjamin. But ultimately Simon wanted Benjamin to emerge from somewhere inside me and he gave me so much freedom to do that also.

EDGE: You had great chemistry with Phenix Brossard. Did you get to rehearse?

CM: Phenix is fantastic, Simon and me did chemistry reads with a few different actors who were all very good but Phenix just had an extra something we felt Benjamin would be drawn to. We did a little bit of rehearsal together but because it was a relationship that was trying to find itself there was a lot of room for spontaneity and uncertainty between us, which is what the allure of a new relationship is all about, the excitement and fear.

Liberating process

EDGE: Did your process meld with Amstell’s?

CM: I’ve said this a lot before and it’s true, Simon is one of the best directors I’ve worked with. Everything he created before shooting and then maintained on set was special. We always did improvised versions of most scenes and always the scripted version too. It was such a creative and liberating process. That is exactly the way I love to work. And for a director to maintain that level of bravery, trust and experimental play throughout the whole shoot stands as one of the most rewarding shooting experiences I’ve had.

EDGE: When I spoke with Rupert Everett about “The Happy Prince,” he very proudly boasted about his ensemble. Can you speak about working with Rupert as he balanced wearing a number of creative hats?

CM: Again, this was an extremely rewarding project to work on and quite a similar relationship as with Simon in the respect that Rupert was the writer/director and Oscar Wilde is so personal to him. And then we also had many scenes together in front of the camera, so Rupert and me had a real 3D experience together. It was a long time in the making. I was on board, I think, two years before we actually got shooting so I had a lot of time to work with Rupert and rehearse. He really inspired me, watching him wear all the different creative hats, such a challenging and difficult job/jobs to achieve and he really excelled--plus we just got on very well.

Playing queer roles

EDGE: You haven’t shied away from playing queer roles. Do you think we’re moving closer to a time when a person’s sexual orientation is of little consequence to the stories being told, or should it always matter? Or perhaps we need to continue to evolve as a culture for it to matter less or not at all...

CM: That’s a hard question to answer, I think certainly the shift in people’s attitudes has changed considerably for the better compared to 40 years ago, but there will always be resistance to change and acceptance from individuals and groups whether it be sexuality, religion, race, gender--we’re seeing it every day.

Evolution is, of course, inevitable, but if we can learn from the past as we evolve that would be the ideal. Unfortunately, we rarely do learn, and history repeats itself.

EDGE: You were featured prominently in one of my favorite episodes of the “The Crown” (”Bubbikins”) as the fictional journo John Armstrong. Can you speak a bit about working on the show and with the great Jane Lapotaire?

CM: I had an exceptionally good time working on “The Crown.” Director Benjamin Caron, especially, was so prepared and creative, and made the whole experience so welcoming and inclusive. It was an incredibly happy set, with extremely talented people in every department, and I admired the ethos of the whole production and have no doubt that’s a huge ingredient to its success, along with Peter Morgan’s incredible writing.

I was also a fan of the show, and it was an honor to be part of the third season. And I can’t say enough amazing things about Jane Lapotaire. We talked a lot in between filming, and I relished every moment of that.

EDGE: You’ve done a ton of stage work. Do you have a favorite role you’ve played onstage?

CM: I’ve been so lucky with the theatre work I’ve done, to work with such special directors and work in wonderful theatres in London. I’ve worked at the Old Vic and The Young Vic twice each, and they’re always special to me. Ian Rickson is a liberating director, who I love. It’s hard to pick a favorite, because the roles have all been so different and presented different challenges, but, most recently, doing “A Number,” playing three different characters alongside Roger Allam and directed by Polly Findlay, was a really treasured experience, and I never tired of doing that show, every performance was challenging as it was.

Miss the rehearsal room

EDGE: You were doing “A Number” earlier this year. Did you finish your run before the lockdown/shutdown?

CM: Just about! We had our final performance, and then lockdown happened days later. I feel very sorry for the productions that didn’t get the sense of completion of finishing a run. I mean, finishing a full run leaves you in a kind of post-show void anyway, even though you know it’s coming, so to not know it’s coming and have it severed must be even more of a void.

Memories of performing just months ago seem like such an unattainable thing in this COVID world right now. I can’t tell you how much I’m hoping we get back to some semblance of live performance.

EDGE: What was it like to appear onstage opposite Dame Diana Rigg in “All About My Mother?”

CM: Well, I think “iconic” is an apt word for both the experience of working with Diana and the lady herself. In between scenes backstage we used to talk a lot and we got told off for talking too loudly, so Diana began to teach me sign language and we would spell out words to each other, maybe only getting a couple of sentences to each other before she was due on stage and I had to get into position for my next entrance-- we did a radio play together two years ago and she remembered, she said, “Do you remember A-E-I-O-U?” signing out the letters with her hands.

EDGE: None of us knows the future in terms of the pandemic and when we might return to making theatre. I’m a playwright myself and find it all supremely frustrating but I’m trying to remain hopeful! Where are you right now in terms of the standstill we are in and what the future might hold?

CM: Yes, I’m so worried for theatre. It’s a devastating blow. I’m sure as a playwright, you know that the creative spirit in individuals hasn’t been diminished by this virus. People are creating important art in this crisis but we need the platforms to present it and bring people to some light again out of this really scary period, but it needs to be safe and it’s a worrying time. The virtual theatre approach must be looked at I think. We need to experiment and find new paths at least for the time being. I’m involved in developing some things right now and how we can work on things in both an isolated and collaborative way. It’s entirely counterintuitive to what the family-feel and close bond of a group in a rehearsal room is like-- I miss the rehearsal room so much!-- but we can’t sit still, we must create and we must act.

What’s in a role?

EDGE: Looking back on the great success of “Merlin,” what are your takeaways from that experience?

CM: Some of the most treasured memories of my life will forever be connected to “Merlin,” the cast, crew, production, everyone! The invaluable training of being in front of a camera every day! The chance to inhabit a character and live with him for five seasons! There’s too much to list and words probably won’t do justice anyway, but I’m truly grateful for everything the show gave me.

EDGE: How do you select the roles you play?

CM: I guess they select me in a way. I can’t play a role unless it speaks to me and provokes me in some way, but ultimately it’s the characters that I have a fear about playing, not knowing how I’m going to enter into the process of living them, when I don’t have all the answers it’s a good indicator of a character I must play. If I have all the answers, there’s less scope for exploration and discovery which isn’t as interesting for me.

Link here

#colin morgan #interview #14 july 2020 #edgemedianetwork #benjamin #transcription

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coreastories · 4 years ago

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Modern Royals: The queen bares her heart about her new project, her queenship, and the king

This author is very honored (and tickled) to be invited to the palace for a private tete-a-tete with the queen

This isn’t exclusive, but I did get a note from The Royal Public Affairs Office that I’m the first in the lineup of the press junket, so yes, I screamed in the powder room

Also in the note: As long as I interview the queen about her project, I can ask other questions I want. They’re confident that I would remain respectful of Her Majesty’s privacy.

Well! They knew how to rein me in, didn’t they?

The October air was crisp and cold that morning but the thought of meeting the queen warmed me up. We were offered breakfast upon arrival. My team ate. I couldn’t. I was too excited. You remember that I’ve been dreaming of an interview with the queen for ages!

At eight, we were brought to the interview location. The media room was simple, with zero clutter. The furniture was modern minimalist. The walls were white, the floor-to-ceiling windows were bare. Your eyes were drawn to the lush grounds.

And it was so warm you could forget it was autumn. Rather than a press junket, the room gave the impression that the queen was meeting you as a friend, invited to relax in that gorgeous room.

Once there, I discovered I could eat. I drank tea and had some of the best scones I’ve ever had.

At eight fifteen, the queen arrived in her trademark, understated elegance. Barely any makeup. No lipstick. Hair splendid and shining but unstyled. Her outfit looked like something you wore at home, because of course it might be a palace but it was her home.

Well, something you wore at home in different brands, unless you’re also upper crust Corean who can afford head-to-toe Chanel, because the queen’s outfit was all Chanel, from her Coco Crush earrings to her suede calfskin and grosgrain mary janes.

Her Majesty was just lovely. She made us feel like friends. If I weren’t in love with her before, I would certainly have been head over heels then.

Don’t get me wrong-- the queen is not friendly in that overly familiar style that just manipulates you to respond in the same way. No, the queen simply charms you with her sincerity, despite her obvious shyness. If she asks you a question, she genuinely wants to know the answer-- it’s not just small talk.

When everything was ready, the queen sat in her chosen chair. We shared a laugh because it’s exactly the type of chair the king didn’t want her to sit on when Their Majesties dropped in on us for his flash interview.

Without further ado, darlings, here’s my interview with the queen on her new project.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

The Queen’s project revolves around Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, a day of remembrance for pregnancy loss and infant death, which includes, but is not limited to, miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, and the death of a newborn.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day is held on October 15 in several countries. Are we going to have a separate day for it in Corea, Your Majesty?

HM The Queen: I found out about Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day on the same day it was confirmed that I’m pregnant. So we’ve been working on this project for several weeks. I wanted to unveil it on the remembrance day, but I didn’t want that strict deadline on anybody’s head.

Thankfully, we still managed to be quite close to the Remembrance Day. So we are launching the Eomoni Foundation this year and Corea will join the international Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day next year.

The Eomoni Foundation

Eomoni Foundation is literally “Mother” Foundation. Is it for all mothers in Corea?

HM The Queen: Yes. Mothers do so much, even before the moment they learn they’re expecting a child. When they’re trying to conceive, or when they suspect they’re pregnant and they’re not sure yet if it’s happy or unwelcome news. There’s just so much there, unspoken and unrecognized. Eomoni Foundation stands for everything a mother needs before, during and after pregnancy.

Because of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, we’ve talked to experts on how to support this often overlooked aspect of becoming a mother.

Mothers who lose their children during pregnancy or infancy need the most support. So Eomoni Foundation is their safe harbor, where they can come for informational, emotional, medical, and peer support.

And the foundation is truly up and running?

HM The Queen: Yes. The helpline is up, the website is live, and Eomoni Foundation has fully-staffed centers in Seoul, Busan, Pyongyang and Hamgyong. Of course, we’re still learning everything, but we have reliable models from other foundations worldwide. The Queen’s Office and the Office of the Prime Minister are both working together to have a Eeomoni Center in every city in Corea.

What’s your goal for the foundation, short term and long-term?

HM The Queen: We’re in talks with the Ministry of Labor about requiring all private and government businesses and organizations to have training for Infant Loss and Bereavement. I want parents to have company policies and HR that support them. This is both the short and long-term goal, to change policies and laws to support parents in this difficult time.

I suppose this is very personal for you, Your Majesty, now that you’re expecting? How has that affected this project you whipped up so quickly?

HM The Queen: Of course, it’s personal. And this is almost never discussed because it’s terrifying, but this is a mother’s biggest fear: to lose her child. It’s very real to me right now-- I can understand that fear and I can imagine the devastation and grief at this visceral level, so I wanted Eomoni Foundation up, and we do have the means to do that. There were no impediments for this project to get on its feet.

No superstitions at all that might have cautioned you against it?

HM The Queen: Ahhh yes, there was something said about it, but even the most superstitious understood. I mean, of course I wouldn’t want anything to happen. But not touching this because of that has no logic at all. No one wants to get cancer, and should that mean we couldn’t touch support and research and funds for cancer patients?

So we pushed through with this, because this is absolutely needed.

Congratulations, Your Majesty, this is stupendous.

HM The Queen: Thank you. We had a lot of help. Her Excellency, of course. And Dr Chae. And Elizabeth Locke of the Infant Loss Foundation in the United Kingdom. The Corean Association of Counseling is also offering training specifically for Infant Loss Counseling, under Eomoni Foundation.

That’s wonderful. Your Majesty, you’ve had so many projects since becoming queen. It makes my head spin. Do these help with the adjustment from your previous job to this one? Did you have an adjustment period at all? How--what was it like? You’re handling so much, and now you’re also pregnant.

HM The Queen: I’ve been a public servant ever since I became an adult, and my role now just continues that, only on a bigger scale.

I got married. And my marriage happened to come with a queenship.

The adjustment period was more on the small “big” things, like people bowing, and not being able to go out and about like I used to, and events where I’m the center of attention instead of being invisible in the background.

I had to learn the protocol and I had to get used to so many things. I suppose I was already trained for this because a cop should be adaptive. You need to be nimble for every case, every situation, and if you transfer to another station or another department-- or if you even just get promoted--you also need to adjust there. You shouldn’t get comfortable, or be afraid of change.

It’s such a huge change, Your Majesty. Do you ever feel regret for what you gave up? Do you ever think of your previous career?

HM The Queen: No. I made my choice and it’s something I don’t regret at all. I do think of my previous job. Who wouldn’t? But even though I loved it, I wasn’t really in a position of influence.

After becoming queen, I had to wrap my head around the fact that I can do what I want. I’m in this position where I can help and serve people without all the bureaucracy I would have had to go through first.

Once I’ve done that, I filled pages and pages of notes on everything I could do for Corea. That’s why you’re seeing so many projects. I talk to the Prime Minister a lot. Secretary Mo is also a great advisor. I have a lot to learn if I want to be a working queen.

The king is supportive, of course. And the king and I have always planned to have a family. So having a baby is just part of everything, too. I went into this with both eyes open and I’m determined to do my best.

That’s what it’s like. I’m learning, adjusting, asking questions. I do have a lot of help. And for many of my projects, I’m simply a patron. I get it off the ground, I raise funds, the experts do the work.

I admire that so much, Your Majesty. Thank you for your candor. I’ve always been curious, what does being patron of these foundations involve?

HM The Queen: It involves signatures and funding for the most part, and support where needed, for both the best developments and any bad circumstances.

How are you, ma’am? No more morning sickness? I hope it’s alright to ask that. Everyone’s thinking about you.

It’s adorable how the queen refused to touch her baby bump throughout the interview, but often came close to doing so anyway.

HM The Queen: I do still get sick now and then. We’re told this is normal and might go away. Or not. And I thank everyone for their concern. I’m very well taken care of. Sometimes to the point of excess, but I’ve learned to accept some of it, and we’ve all gotten better at it.

Can you share something about that, Your Majesty?

HM The Queen: Well, the king is almost back to normal and no longer snaps at Jangmi’s every move. I mean Jang Mi-reuk. And Lady Noh is always giving me tisanes and soups. I’ve told her which ones I like and which ones I absolutely wouldn’t drink, so we’ve all come to an agreement.

How is the king? Is he excited-terrified, or excited-impatient?

HM The Queen: I think he tries to be neither. We’re excited, of course, but we try to temper that and just stick to happiness every day. We just savor each day.

That is lovely, but also surprising. So you don’t plan for May, for example? No birth plan?

HM The Queen: That’s already done. We got it out of the way on the first days. We don’t dwell on it. We enjoy each new day, each new milestone.

So I suppose you have names ready?

HM The Queen: Ahh, I think I’ve been told not to say anything about that.

That reminds me of that time Your Majesties dropped by! Can I ask you some of those questions?

HM The Queen: Of course, you can ask me. I just won’t guarantee the answers.

I’ve always been curious about that blessing His Majesty mentioned. He said, and I quote, that you “were blessed by God to meet and stay together. God made sure our paths would cross and stay intertwined.” What does this mean?

HM The Queen: That’s exactly what it means. We were fated to meet, and then fate kept us together, as cheesy as that sounds. All our doubts and fears were answered and addressed.

That’s just as cryptic as what the king said. Let me capture something non-cryptic at all. The rings you’re wearing right now. They’re the Coco Crush rings. Any significance? We haven’t seen your wedding rings at all.

HM The Queen: My wedding and engagement rings are both very thin bands-- and they don’t fit my fingers right now. These aren’t part of my bridal jewelry. They are gifts from the king. I wear them sometimes when I’m at home.

And when he’s not home? When she misses him? The king is currently away on kingly duties to Russia, China, Thailand, and Singapore.

First thing that comes to mind: what do you love about the king?

HM The Queen: His dimples. So I guess that’s his smile. The rest of him isn’t bad at all either. You think he’s vain but he’s not. He’s a man of principle. What he said in your interview was right: He does know how to joke in difficult situations.

It amazed me that I didn’t become a puddle of goo in that gorgeous press room at that point. Despite her smiles and giggling, there was something in the queen’s eyes that told me she’d witnessed a demonstration of the king’s stalwart principle. This queen admires and respects her king in the highest degree. And these two are so in love it’s almost contagious-- no wonder the whole kingdom is in love with their love, too.

It’s probably his principles that took him away from you these days?

HM The Queen: Well, these diplomatic visits have been scheduled for months. He comes home from Singapore in a few days.

Just in time for the King’s Birthday?

HM The Queen: Hopefully.

What is something you adore about the king, something we won’t see or notice at all because we don’t live with him, but something we can watch out for in public appearances?

HM The Queen: If you ever see him pick something up with his right hand, sometimes his pinkie would be sticking out. He hates it when that happens, but it’s not really something he can control.

And laughing at that little detail, our interview came to an end. I feel quite blissful. I don’t know if I’d asked what I’d wanted to ask, but I’m content.

Stay tuned because we’ll be back at the palace for the king’s birthday!

For more information about Eomoni Foundation, go here.

Images from Elle Korea interview video. Love that so much.

LMH’s pinkie sticking out is as true as KGE missing her pockets lol

#CoreaNews #CoreaFiction #the king eternal monarch #the king: eternal monarch

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call-me-nerdy · 5 years ago

Text

Felix doesn't have "Vacations"

Felinette November Day 4; Vacation

It's late, sorry.

So I had a vague idea of what to do, but it went off the rails real quick. I'm not proud of the ending, but I'll live.

I couldn't finish this yesterday because of well, school. So I'll probably do a double update one of these days to catch up on schedule.

-----

Felix Agreste is endearing.

Semestral break crept up on Felix like a fox stalking an unsuspecting prey; slow and steady before pouncing on him with a hectic onslaught of extracurricular activities on his schedule.

Felix would say he was merely inconvenienced by the numerous 'hobbies' his mother had requested him to partake in, but that didn't mean he wasn't overwhelmed by her overeager plans.

The timetable was light in his hands, though it honestly seemed to weigh him down with every task that was printed on the pristine, white paper. Felix scanned the letters in disdain, a faint throbbing started to grow at the back of his head.

A modeling gig on Monday, followed by a violin recital on Tuesday. Wednesday entails a whole day rehearsal with the local Chamber Orchestra, and we are set to perform on Friday at night. I have to assist with the fencing classes on Thursday, and another modeling event on Friday afternoon before the performance. Add my daily study sessions and the projects I have to finish into the mix, and I'm positive that this is impossible to achieve.

Felix bit back a groan. He knew how awfully ambitious his mother could get, but even he had to admit that this was edging on to overkill at this point. The thought of Monday alone l was enough to drown his mind with poisonous dread– draining Felix of the motivation that he tried desperately to keep. It didn't help that these kinds of events were already preplanned appointments, locking Felix out of any opportunity to just *ditch* them in favor of laying on his bed with an absurd amount of sweets. Felix pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering words of frustration under his breath.

"Grumpy today, aren't we. What's on your mind?" The familiar voice rang clear, the scent of freshly baked bread tickled his nose. Felix looked up to meet cheeky, bluebell eyes staring back. Marinette smiled at him, a tray of freshly baked croissants in her hands.

Felix inhaled the aroma, savoring the phantom taste of croissants on his tongue. He sighed, reaching out for a croissant. "Keen-eyed as ever, Dupain-Cheng." Felix quickly retracted his arm when Marinette slapped it away.

"Not until you tell me why you're grumbling over there." She set the tray on the table, and with a swift movement, plopped down on the seat in front of Felix.

"My mother gave me my schedule for the week today. And because it's semestral break, she took extra care to make my vacation, and I quote, productive." Felix emphasized his point with air quotes, handing the paper to Marinette. "And as much as it is a nuisance, her overeager involvement in my extracurricular activities is barely an uncommon occurence."

Marinette winced, "Wow. This is overkill. Is this even a vacation anymore?"

"It's an eyesore." Felix grumbled, taking a croissant from the tray. The pastry broke easily in his mouth. Flaky and crisp, it melted into raw happiness on his tongue.

Marinette giggled, "Well, best of luck to you. I bet you can't even survive 'til next week without me." she challenged.

Felix clicked his tongue, "Oh, please. I may have a hectic schedule, but it's still a vacation from seeing you tripping on air every five minutes." he rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his croissant.

Marinette stuck out her tongue, "Maybe so. But admit it, you can't live without me for a whole week." she said as she took a croissant for herself

"Keep on dreaming, Dupain-Cheng. I can survive very well without your cheeky comments." Felix scoffed, only to recieve Marinette's smug smirk in return.

"We'll see, Agreste." She giggled, "We'll see."

-----

Marinette didn't like liars. In fact, she openly despised them.

Perhaps her hatred for untruths stemmed from her strong sense of justice; a trait that, although it was already prominent in her life before Ladybug, was carefully nurtured and encouraged by Tikki to the point that it was nearly a fault. Marinette wouldn't have it any other way.

Yes, she may lie on a semi-regular basis, but it was only always when she needed to get away to transform into Paris' superhero, Ladybug. Marinette hated lying almost as she hated liars themselves. And so when she came to the conclusion that she loved teasing Felix Agreste, who was she to deny the truth? Denying it would've made her as bad as Lila Rossi, and Marinette absolutely refused to be likened to that witch.

She couldn't help herself. Felix was the stereotypical 'Ice King' at surface level: cold, reserved, and refused to show any weakness at all costs. So seeing his pale cheeks rapidly color a shade of pink, and him trying so desperately and failing to fight the flush everytime that she jested and poked fun at his little quirks, – It was not only hilarious, but outright endearing.

Felix Agreste is endearing.

Last week was no different.

Felix arrived earlier than usual at the bakery. Hell, she had only woken up about thirty minutes prior to her Papa announcing that a friend was asking for her downstairs. Marinette scrambled to make herself presentable, and went downstairs rather chaotically with a few fresh bruises on her ankles. Armed with a tray of freshly baked croissants, she scurried to their usual table only to see Felix looking awfully grumpy in his seat — well, grumpier than he usually was. Marinette may be a sometimes most of the time, tripping over her feet and bumping into random objects. But make no mistake, that despite all her shortcomings, she was observant. Observant enough to notice the frustration that shaped Felix's frown and his troubled countenance as he bit down on his lip. She had noticed his narrowed eyes, scrunched up nose and the way his fists tightly clenched the paper he glared at so furiously.

And so she greeted him heartily, hiding her concern when she asked why he looked so glum.

Apparently, his mother had filled his whole week with events. A photoshoot here, a rehearsal there, it all seemed so taxing. Felix had claimed that his mother was merely 'overeager', and that he had survived such schedules multiple times in his past. Marinette would've voiced her opinion of his mother expecting too much from him, but she ultimately decided to bite back her assumptions until after she had actually met Ms. Agreste. Instead, she did the best she could to lift his spirits with a few innocent jokes.

When he left, she made sure to give him a bag full of sweet pastries to lighten his mood. She knew how that boy loved sugar.

She continued to send some pastries to him everyday, with little cheeky notes sneakily attached to the inside of the paper bags. Macarons, pain au chocolats, croissants, cookies and even straight up chocolate arrived to his doorstep every morning. Yes, every morning. Marinette had forced herself to wake up every Seven AM just to make the poor boy some sweets. Tikki teased her about it for hours.

Maman and Papa are rubbing off on her.

Nevertheless, she just wished that Felix wouldn't get hospitalized over exhaustion. Actually, Marinette prayed that he would be alive on their next Sunday Afternoon meetup.

Which was today.

Felix entered the bakery with a subtle skip in his step, gray eyes frantically scanning the whole room in search of something.

Of someone.

When Felix finally met her gaze, Marinette could've sworn that *relief* flickered in his eyes.

The boy walked hastily to their table, sitting across Marinette,

"A bit enthusiastic today, are you?Welcome back." Marinette handed him a cup of hot chocolate.

He took the cup, and nodded. Now that was strange, Marinette thought. She was so used to him having witty comebacks for her every bite. Why was Felix acting so bashful?

"Thank you for the pastries." He finally said, his voice was slow and uncertain.

"You're welcome! It's no problem at all!"

"..."

He was silent again.

"Hey, Fé. Is something wrong?" Marinette asked him gently. Her worry grew every second that Felix maintained his averted gaze.

She frowned. Did he have a fever? If he did, then he shouldn't have come here! Marinette reached over the table to put her hand on Felix's forehead.

Felix drew back in surprise, pink started to appear on the skin of his neck up to his cheeks.

"Do you have a fever, Fé?

Felix forced a scoff, "I... am perfectly fine, Dupain-Cheng."

She deadpanned, "It doesn't look like it."

"W-well, I am." Did Felix just stutter?

"Then why weren't you answering me?" Marinette frowned. Felix being unsure of himself was strange.

A guilty look flashed on Felix's expression, "... My apologies, Marinette. I was simply... panicked because of our previous conversation."

Marinette's eyes widened, "Oh my God."

"Yes, I– what?"

"You actually used my name!" She squealed, a grin stretching across her lips.

"I..." He trailed off, the pink on his skin grew a few shades darker.

Marinette gaped. Felix Agreste; Resident Salt King, honor student, overachiever, sharp-tongued, cool and collected Felix Agreste, was right in front of her with no witty comeback, as red as a tomato, avoiding her eyes and pouting? In what world?!

Then it hit her.

Felix was pouting.

She cackled. Uncontrollably cackled.

Oh my gosh, that's adorable.

"Pfft, Ahaha! Y-you should see your f-face!" Marinette wheezed, clutching her stomach in laughter.

Felix sat in front of her, his face was all red.

She gasped for breath, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Marinette wiped a tear. She cleared her throat, "Why were you worried?"

Felix took a deep breath, "Through a number of contemplations, as well as evidence of a few peculiar moments in the week, I have deducted that you were correct in your prediction." Felix sped through his sentence.

"Uhm, what?" Marinette could barely understand his overly convoluted words; he was more verbose than usual, an air of uncharacteristic awkwardness surrounded him.

"AllthroughouttheweekIfeltthattherewasalwayssomethinglackinginmyeverydaylifeIhadnoonetotalktoandgivemewittyremarksandthiscausedmetobescoldedsomanytimesbecauseIkeptspacingoutand—" Marinette's eyes widened.

"Felix, slow down!"

"Idon'tknowwhatI'mfeelingbecauseI'vebeverreallyhadarelationshipwithanyoneaboveacquaintancesandIdon'tevenknowifyouconsidermeafriendand–"

Marinette stood up and pinched his cheek.

"Felix! Calm. Down!" She cried. Felix snapped out of his wordy breakdown.

"Apologies." Felix cleared his throat.

He was worried about a previous conversation they had? She was correct in her predictions? What in the world–

Oh. Marinette thought back on their last meetup.

Ohhh.

"Wait. Are you saying that you missed me?" Marinette couldn't stop the glee that bubbled frantically in her chest.

Felix looked at his hands, "I... If that is the term, t-then I suppose so."

Marinette almost squealed.

"Oh my Kw- that was adorable." She gushed, pinching Felix's cheeks once more.

"Hmmpf–" His face glowed scarlet at this point, Felix his flustered expression behind cupped hands.

Felix Agreste is endearing, and Marinette couldn't understand why anyone would think otherwise.

#Felinette #Felix Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #ml #Miraculous Ladybug #No Creepy Adrien Clone #Felinette Month #Felinette November #Day 4 #Prompt #Vacation #Fluff #So much fluff

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mirkwoodshewolf · 6 years ago

Text

Lessons from Ben Cardy; Ben Hardy x reader ft. Joe Mazzello

*Author’s note*

Hey guys well this idea had been buzzing around in my head for months. I kid you not months on end since a certain video of when Joe Mazzello not only did the Ben Cardy but also included the real Ben Hardy himself. So I decided to do this little fic since I managed to FINALLY get some free time in my hectic schedule but this will be the last update for awhile cause I’ve got a convention this weekend, my sister’s wedding the next weekend and then finals the following week but hopefully by the summer I’ll be back to do tons more updates and work on those requests to the anons who sent them back during my winter break. I PROMISE!!!

So in the fic you will literally find no warnings just PURE FLUFF AND GOOEYNESS OF MORE FLUFF!!! Hope you all love this cause I sure as heck enjoyed writing it :)

___________________________________________________

The sun peered in through my curtains of my bedroom. I let out a groan and turned to the side of my bed and saw the infamous cutout of Ben Hardy laying on my bed.

“Oh Joe I’m gonna kill you!” I hissed under my breath. I shot out of bed and grabbed the cardboard and trudged out of my room and banged on Joe’s room and cried out, “Joseph Mazzello III you get your ass out here right now!!” The door soon opened and as soon as Joe saw me with Cardboard Ben he said.

“Whoa (y/n) long night?”

“Shut up you little shit! I know you implanted this thing in my bed.” He gasped and took the cutout back and said as he stroked it’s head.

“How dare you? She didn’t mean that Benjamin. She’s just cranky in the mornings, you’ll get used to it.” I shook my head at him and said.

“Joey, it’s a piece of cardboard that looks like him.”

“You’re hurting your boyfriend’s feelings (y/n)!”

God how I’ve put up with Joe Mazzello after all these years I’ll never know, but again my life would’ve been boring without him. As a kid while most girls wanted to be pop stars, princesses or movie stars, I had an interest in fashion. By the time I was in high school, I got involved with my school’s theatre department and always got involved with the costume department.

In college I majored in fashion and got an internship at the best shopping centers in New York City. Soon my works got viewed by magazines and Hollywood that I had actually been offered to do the costumes for an upcoming B movie. I worked my way up until finally I was called up by Steven Spielberg himself to do the costume work for his and Tom Hank’s new project “The Pacific”.

I think that out of any decade that I would say would be my favorite is the 1940’s just because of the simplicity of their fabric and designs. Plus I’m a sucker for a man in Marine uniforms. And it was through The Pacific that I met and became friends with both Joe Mazzello and Rami Malek.

Every day with those two was an adventure and full of laughter and stories. Joe had told me how he worked with Stephen back when he was a kid for Jurassic Park, of course me being me I freaked out because I practically grew up on that movie and watched it religiously.

Even after the show wrapped, I kept in contact with both Joe and Rami and I soon got involved with bigger film projects, hell if you’ve seen Guardians of the Galaxy, I helped design the Ravagers, Gamora’s, Ronin’s and Nebula’s costumes. Then one day I was on break after doing the 2nd GOTG movie, I had gotten a call from Graham King the Producer of a new Queen biopic that he was planning to do and asked to see me.

I agreed because this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Along with the 1940’s, I always loved the outfits that the actual band members of Queen wore. They just gradually changed with the era and it was just amazing to see them evolve with it. I met with Graham, even got to meet with Brian May and Roger Taylor themselves and they were impressed with my work and happily welcomed me on board as the head costume designer.

So I flew out to England to where we would be filming and as I was getting myself set up, I actually gotten a big surprise that day. I was at my station pulling out and organizing all my sketch books and labeled to which band member would be in which book, when suddenly I felt something tickle my waist.

I let out an almost inhuman shriek and when I turned around I saw two very familiar faces. It was Rami and Joe. I gasped and let out a cheer as I hugged Rami who was closest to me. He picked me up and spun me around laughing joyously before setting me down when Joe piped in.

“Oh I see how it is (n/n) good to know where your loyalties lie.”

“Shut up you little shit and get over here and hug me.” I had told him. He then picked me up and spun me just like Rami did. They told me that they had gotten the led roles as Freddie Mercury and John Deacon respectively, and when I told them I would be the head designer for the project, they were so happy for me just as happy as I was for them.

The three musketeers reunited at last.

As the filming went on, I also got to get close with the two other gentlemen playing Roger and Brian. Gwilym and I had a lot in common in favorite authors and plays since I had done some Broadway work before being signed up onto Hollywood, and Ben…..

Ahh Ben Hardy. That loveable man. I mean it was hard to not get along with Ben, he was sweet, kind-hearted, a great listener, and had a great personality. And it seemed that the more time I got to spend time with Ben, the more my feelings began to develop for him. And of course with Roger’s well-known wardrobe choice, it made it so hard to stop a blush from beaming on my face, especially when it was an outfit where it would show his chest.

Of course Joey being Joey knew immediately of my little crush on Ben and every day would tease me about it while in his John Deacon get up, either dropping the accent or using it.

After filming ended and I went back to the states, Joe had actually invited me to stay with him for a while. Since living in New York was so expensive, he offered for me to stay in his home. He says it was because he missed his ‘bestest friend in the whole wide world’ and wanted to spend time with me, but I think he just wants more opportunity to torment about my feelings for a certain blonde Brit. He even went as far as to buy a cardboard cutout of said Brit and bringing it back after the press tour in Tokyo.

Of course he spread the ‘Ben Cardy’ all over Instagram and the fans were going nuts over it. After having to do two big projects back to back I’ve decided to take a year off work so I guess it’s good that Joe offered me to come live with him, cause if I hadn’t I’d probably be evicted out of my apartment.

Now back to the present, I rolled my eyes and muttered.

“You’re so annoying.”

“Aww you know you love me.”

“Do I know that?” I teased as I headed to the kitchen. As I got me a bowl of Coco-Puffs, Joe came into the kitchen and said.

“C’mon (n/n), why can’t you just say?”

“Say what?”

“You love Ben.” I dropped my spoon into the bowl and said.

“Why must you be so nosy about my love-life Joey?”

“Because I want my two best friends to get together and name me the godfather of their future children.” I shook my head at him and that’s when he said, “But seriously (y/n), you’ve been pining over Ben since the start of filming. Anytime he was even mentioned you’d blush like a lobster.”

“But Joe…..even if I did confess, you know that I’d…..how would I go about being a good girlfriend? This is whole new territory for me. And I’m ashamed.” I felt Joe come up behind me and wrap his arms around me, hugging me from behind.

Yeah it’s true. In my 26 years of living, never once did I have a boyfriend. It just seemed that no guy ever wanted to go out with me, meanwhile all my friends were losing their V cards by the time they were 16. Then I guess I got so involved with my growing career that I just didn’t want to go into the dating scene.

“There’s no need to be ashamed (y/n). You just needed the right partner. And I think Ben’s that partner. He’s your lobster.”

“Did you really just quote Phoebe Buffay?”

“Damn right I did. Wait here for a second.”

“Oh my god Joe can’t it wait till I have my cereal first?”

“Nope!”

“Ugh! Then you owe me breakfast for this when it gets soggy.” It was then Joe came back with Cardboard Ben in tow. “No, no, no! I’m not practicing with a cardboard cutout of him!”

“Too late chickadee, now come into the living room and sit on the couch next to dear old Benjamin.” I groaned but followed his order and sat down a couple inches away from where Joe had Cardboard Ben sitting.

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”

“Trust me it’ll help you for when the real day comes. Now talk to him.” Joe ducked down behind the arm of the couch but kept Ben adjusted. I faced Ben and said.

“Hey Ben,”

“Yes love what is it?” Joe spoke, mimicking Ben’s accent and that’s when I broke and said.

“Gah I can’t do this Joe!”

“Yes you can, pretend I’m not here keep going you’re doing great.” He said as he peeked his head out from the couch.

“Joe—”

“Don’t chicken out you wuss!” He demanded which led me to sigh heavily. “Ben?”

“Yes darling?”

“There’s—well I have uhh……lately I…..”

“It’s okay (y/n), you can tell me, you know I’d never laugh at you.” I looked up at the cutout and could almost swear that it really was Ben speaking to me. I took a deep breath in before exhaling out.

“Imighthaveharboredacrushonyousincefilmingstarted.” I rushed out.

“Love I couldn’t understand you, what was that?”

“I…..might have….harbored…..a crush on you Ben. No I—I like you Ben. I mean really, really, really like you.” I felt my face burning up and that’s when Joe spoke up in Ben’s accent.

“Wow (y/n) I’m honored that you feel that way about me,” oh god why did I feel like there was a but coming in. “But,” I knew it. “I unfortunately have another waiting for me.” I lowered my head when I heard Joe say, “A strong, handsome brunette man with an American accent, not Welsh of course. He’s the man of my dreams.”

“Joey!” I whined out.

“Sorry I had to. Gwilym and Ben are having their little buddy-bromance story all over Instagram and I’ve gotta do better.” He said as he got up from behind the couch.

“Nice to know your relationship with Ben is more important than mine.” I snapped at him. I felt Joe sit beside me and wrap an arm around me and he said.

“I’m sorry, but you know Ben will love you. I mean how can someone not fall in love with someone like you? From day one since Rami and I met you all those years ago, we knew you were someone special. You’re smart, you’re beautiful, the youngest and most fashionable fashionista that I know. And if Ben can’t see that, then he’s a dick.” I felt Joe tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and I smiled softly.

“Thanks Joey, what would I do without you?”

“Be all depressed and focused solely on your work.” I slapped his arm making him cry out in pain and collapse onto the floor crying in pain in such a dramatic way.

“That didn’t hurt.”

“Yes it did, you’re so mean!”

“Oh get up yah big baby.” I pulled him up and that’s when I was suddenly thrown over his shoulder like a sack of flower. “Gah Joe put me down!”

“Nah I don’t think I want to.” He then spun around and I gripped onto the back of his shirt tightly and said.

“Joseph Mazzello I swear I’ll hurl all over you if you don’t put me down right now!” He set me down and I adjusted myself trying to make myself more presentable. “Remember you owe me breakfast now because I’m betting you $20 that my cereal’s gone bad.”

“Fine lets head over to Dunkin Doughnuts and get us something and I’ll even throw in a Starbuck for you.” He said as he extended his hand out.

“Deal.” We shook on it and then went to our rooms to get dressed and head on out.

A week later, the BoRhap cast was back together for a little reunion just before the award seasons start. We all decided to head to the best karaoke bar this side of New York had. We reserved our table and ordered our meal and looked through the song book to see what kind of songs they were allowing.

“Oh guys check this out they have an entire section of Queen songs.” Gwilym said.

“Ohh what all do they have?” asked Lucy.

“They’ve got pretty much everything.” He answered.

“All except Bohemian Rhapsody.” I replied.

“Aww why don’t they have it?” whine Lu.

“I think I read somewhere the reason they banned it was because last time a group of guys tried it, a fight broke out as a drunk man tried to stop it and the person who was the front man started a fight with the guy. But then again it could also be because they don’t allow six minute songs.”

“Well I pity their wives if they think six minutes is forever.” Answered Rami. We all laughed and the inside joke and Joe and I high fived Rami for speaking up about that.

As the night got late, some of us like me were a little tipsy while others were completely wasted e.g. Joe. Joe had just gotten done singing “Purple Rain” by Prince and of course he dedicated it to Ben. I couldn’t help but film the whole performance and hearing him screech out the lyrics, it was hilarious and now I had some blackmail on him because during one point of the song, he had actually tripped on the wire of the mic but still kept singing.

Lucy and I did a duet of Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s girl” I sang a couple lyrics of the first verse before she finished and we both did the chorus together. Jumping up and down to the beat and leaning up against each other and then we’d flip roles for the next verse and it continued to that formula.

As Alan was singing “Love of my life” to his lovely wife, I was sitting at the bar getting my next drink when I heard Ben’s voice say.

“Wonderful performance up there.”

“Please it was all liquid courage. I hadn’t done karaoke in years. In fact ‘Somebody to love’ was my first Queen karaoke song back in what was it—middle school? No High school, no wait definitely middle school cause I had a bunch of kids looking at me weird because they had no idea who it was that I was singing to.”

“Seemed your middle school was clearly uneducated in the music department.”

“Tell me about it. All they listened to was their rap music.” Ben laughed softly and there was a bit of silence between us till he finally spoke up.

“Do you remember during the second week of shooting, the day Joe dared me to try and dip him?” I laughed and said.

“How could I possibly forget that?”

*Flashback*

I had just gotten Joe’s jacket on him for the scene where Freddie tries to reconcile with the band in Miami’s office.

“Thanks (n/n) you’re the best.”

“Anytime Joey.” I walked out of the set and watched from behind the camera as the boys ran their lines. But for some reason one of the records that hung up from the wall kept falling down. I was surprised that no one had broken character cause I was about to die laughing.

It was then Graham decided to call a break while they tried to fix the falling record.

“Hey Ben, I wanna try something!” Joe cried out.

“What is it Joe?”

“Dip me.”

“What?”

“Dip me, you know the dance dip. I’ve never been on the dipping end of it and I want to try it.”

“And why must it be me to dip you? Why not Rami or Gwil?”

“Rami’s too deep in character and Gwil’s twiggy arms might break.”

“Thanks mate.” Gwilym pipped in sarcastically.

“C’mon Benny please, just this once.”

“Alright, alright come here then.” And it was there that Ben took Joe in his arms, wrapped one arm around him and bent him backwards. Joe let out a playful swoon.

“Ohh Benjamin you’re such a divine dancer.” I rolled my eyes at him as he looked straight at me when he said those words. As Ben lifted Joe up it was then Gwil said.

“Wait, I’ve got a better idea to make this a bit more interesting.” It was then he grabbed an apple from the concession stand and held it up.

“No, no, no that’s too much!”

“Aww c’mon Joe it’s no different than a rose.” I teased him.

“No because he’ll just focus on the apple and drop me on my head!”

“Mate I promise I won’t drop you.” Ben assured him.

“You promise?” Joe asked skeptically.

“I swear it.” Ben vowed. Joe turned to Gwil who still held the apple. His brow quirked up as he extended his arm out to Joe and Joey took the apple and placed it in his mouth and got back to position one with Ben.

With our phones, Gwil and I took pics of the progression and once Ben took hold of the apple, he set Joe back up before taking the apple out of his mouth.

“Please tell me we got some good shots of that?” proclaimed Joe.

“I got you.” I proclaimed as I handed him my phone and he browsed through the pics.

“Send those to me.” I gave him a thumbs up and that’s when I heard him say, “Okay your turn.”

“Wait what?”

“Go on it’s your turn to be dipped by Ben Hardy.”

“Joe that’s really not necessary—”

“If I can do it, then so can you. Hey Ben care to take on a new partner?” I was then shoved towards Ben who steadied me. I looked at Joe who gestured for us to get on with it. I turned to Ben and he said as he took my hand in his.

“I promise not to drop you (y/n).” My heart raced as I stared at Ben’s face. Even with the famed “Roger Taylor” shades blocking his green eyes from my view, it still made him look absolutely handsome. And the shoulder length blonde wig (although I do wish they had given him the same hairstyle Roger did have during this time, I saw a quick glimpse of it from an album cover they recreated and he looked handsome with the mullet look Roger had at the time). I gulped and nodded to Ben as I tried to calm myself down but that’s when Joe proclaimed.

“Wait! Wait I’ve got a better idea!” He then went over to one of the flower pot props and pulled out one of the fake flowers and held it out.

“No! No, and no Joe! Absolutely not!” I proclaimed.

“Aww c’mon (n/n), it’s no different than an apple.” He reversed my words and threw them right back in my face. He grinned at me wagging the flower in front of me.

“I could strangle you right now.” I grumbled.

“I’d still haunt you in the afterlife dearie.” He mocked. I growled and took the flower and placed the stem between my teeth. Oh god I can’t believe I’m doing this; god Joe is always a little shit and I swear he’s going to—

Oh, oh my god here we go Ben’s dipping me. Wow he has such a strong grip. Not even some of my old friends could dip me like this without complaining. Feeling his hand sprawled out along my back and his hand gently gripping mine made my stomach churn and my heart jump from my chest to my stomach.

I then saw him lean closer towards me to grab the flower. ‘Oh my god he’s leaning forward to grab the flower from my mouth. Oh shit c’mon (y/n) just be cool, keep calm keep calm!’

As he reached for the flower, I could feel just a graze of the blonde wig tickle my cheeks and soon I was no longer holding the flower but Ben was as it lay there between his teeth and he gently set me up right. Even after bringing me back right-side-up, he forgot to let go of my waist. The two of us looking at each other but it was soon broken by Joe’s voice.

“Okay that was hot I’ll admit that.”

“Too pure and yet passionately erotic.” Stated Gwilym.

“Okay guys we’ve got everything reset. Hopefully that record will stay for the take. Let’s wrap this scene up.” Graham called out. It was then the guys left to go back into Miami’s office set. Ben handed me the flower and I took it as he walked passed me.

“That boy has some skills even I didn’t have, I’ll admit that.” I jumped and turned to see Roger standing behind me.

“God Roger no wonder why Brian hates it whenever you sneak up on him like that. You’re like a freakin cat, we’ve gotta get you a bell or something.”

“That would ruin my look, so when will you finally admit it to yourself darling?” I turned to the legendary drummer and said.

“I’ve got nothing to say. Ben and I are just good friends, that’s all. Strictly platonic.”

“Uh-huh sure keep telling yourself that, love. But I can tell you this, he definitely doesn’t shut up about you. Always asking me for advice on how to woo you into his arms.”

“No he doesn’t.”

“Give yourself more credit dear, you’re a beautiful young woman. Hell if I was 50 years younger I’d definitely try to ask you out.” I laughed and said as I turned to face the old drummer.

“I’m flattered Roger, really I am. But from what I’ve heard he just got out of a nine year relationship. And I doubt he’d rebound to someone like me.”

“(Y/n) we need some help! One of the newbies screwed up the measurements for Freddie’s officer uniform!” I heard one of my assistants call out to me.

“Duty calls, see yah later Rog.” I then rushed over to help re-measure the uniform and re-worked on it just before Rami had to get into costuming with it in.

*End of flashback*

“That was probably the most interesting day on set.” I admitted.

“Yeah, but it was also one of my favorites.” He said.

“Because you and Joe got to make the fandom go crazy over the Hardzello shipping?”

“Well partly.” I looked up and saw that he had moved a little closer to me. His arm was placed around the bar behind me, if he wanted he could’ve placed his arm around me and pulled me close to him but he didn’t. “Truthfully (y/n) I never thought that I’d get the courage to do this but I might as well do it now while I still got the nerve.”

“What? Ben I’m confused what are you talking—”

“I love you.” At that point my heart stopped. “I’ve been in love with you since the day I got to know you. I mean Rami and Joe have told Gwil and I loads of stories about you, but getting to actually know you face to face. Their stories don’t do you justice at all.”

“Ben you’re drunk you don’t know…..”

“No I do. I’m still sober enough to know what it is that I want. And what I want is you. To hold you, to kiss you, to make you breakfast in bed. I love you (y/n) (l/n).” I swallowed and lowered my head feeling the tears in my eyes. “You don’t feel the same way do you?”

“No, no Ben it’s not that. Hell even Roger himself saw how crazy I was about you. I love you too Ben it’s just—” I sighed heavily and lowered my head in shame.

“What?” I felt his index finger and thumb raise my chin up so that I was forced to look into his hypnotic green eyes. “What is it love?”

“You and your ex were together for almost a decade. Meanwhile I’ve never once had a boyfriend in my over two decades of living. Hell I’ve never even kissed anyone. I feel like such a loser and you shouldn’t be exposed to someone with no experience in the dating spectrum.”

“I’m not looking for experience (y/n). It doesn’t matter to me whether you’ve had a relationship in the past or not, all I want is you.” His forehead touched mine and I almost collapsed to my knees right then and there. “And I’d be honored to be your first everything. Now and in the future to come.”

I smiled happily and allowed a few tears to slip down my face but they were immediately caught by Ben’s thumbs as he wiped them away as he said.

“I love you (y/n).”

“I love you too Ben.” He leaned in closer toward my face, his nose brushing against mine. His lips faintly grazing mine as he whispered.

“May I kiss you love?”

“What if I screw it up?” I couldn’t stop myself from blurting out.

“Don’t think of it, just do what your heart tells you to do, okay?” He looked directly into my eyes and I tried to calm myself down before nodding. Ben’s lips once again grazed over mine with the lightest of pressures until finally he kissed me.

My stomach exploded into knots and mad moths, I felt this tingle shoot up my spine and my toes curled as I just went for it. I wrapped an arm around his neck, stroking my fingers through his sleeked, blonde hair. After giving me one final peck he muttered.

“How was that?”

“Is it normal to feel like your stomach’s going to just explode when you have your first kiss?” Ben softly chuckled and said.

“Yeah. Cause I felt it just now.” I smiled and that’s when Ben kissed me again.

This time the kiss had a little more passion to it as I felt one arm wrap around my waist bringing me as physically close to him as possible, while his other hand cupped the side of my face stroking my cheek with his thumb.

“YAAAAAAASSSSSSSSS BENJAMIN!!!!” We heard the drunk scream of Joe scream out into the microphone. “IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME YOU TWO GOT TOGETHER!! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I’VE BEEN KEEPING THIS SECRET OF YOUR BOTH!?! FOR FUCKING EVER!!!” Ben and I looked to Joe and he said to him.

“You happy now Joe?”

“Just know this Benjamin Jones. You break my girl’s heart, I’ll kick your ass so hard, you’ll be as flat as Ben Cardy. At least he treats her well.” Ben turned to me and I explained.

“He’s been putting your cutout in my bed for the past several weeks. He even had me practice confessing my feelings for you by practicing with him.”

“But let me assure you something darling,” he cupped my face with both his hands and leaned towards my ear and whispered huskily, “Cardboard Ben will never be able to dip you like I can.” Suddenly I was dipped just like on the second week of shooting. I let out a series of giggles as Ben leaned forward and kissed me doing that famous kiss dip pose.

*Extended ending*

I rubbed my eyes and stretched my arms out before turning to my right and felt the familiar piece of cardboard lying beside me. My eyes shot open and I let out a groan as I muttered.

“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me.” I clicked my tongue once before saying to Cardboard Ben, “Hi, yeah hi, yes. I know you always gotta come back here. But listen up okay, you listen to me mister.” I pointed to him. “I get it, okay I know you must feel some kind of physical chemistry for me, for whatever reason and we’re only human…..Well I’m only human. But this can’t happen anymore, okay? I’m sorry, goodbye.” I turned to my left and that’s where the real Ben Hardy was lying.

Both his hands resting behind his head, the top of my head just barely grazing his strong bicep.

“Oh my god—” I squeaked out.

“Hey baby girl.” He cooed out.

“Hi.” I said bashfully. I hummed awkwardly before saying, “You good?”

“Yeah I’m great.” He said as he pulled me closer to him, my head now resting on his chest. I felt my face heat up and I’m pretty sure I was blushing as red as a lobster if not a rose right about now.

“Good.” I squeaked out. Ben kissed my forehead and hummed as his nose stayed at the crown of my head. “Uhh Ben,”

“Hmm?”

“What about umm…..” I gestured towards Cardy B. Ben looked at the cardboard cutout of himself and said.

“Sorry mate, she’s taken.” It was then reached over and flung Cardy Ben out of the bed. I looked up at him and he looked down at me. I grabbed the top of the sheets and as Ben bit his lip, I pulled the sheet over us covering us from view and that’s when we heard Joe say.

“Did you have to fling him off the bed?”

“He was eyeing her for too long.” Said Ben as he pulled me closer to him and we kissed each other.

“Alright keep it PG you two.”

“You started this Joe, and now you must suffer by letting it run its course!” I cried out. Ben and I then began to ruffle the sheets making it seem like we were fooling around as I let out a few lustful moans.

“Augh gross! I’m not continuing with this anymore!” We then heard the door shut and both Ben and I poked our heads out from the blanket and I said,

“Think he bought it?”

“Well one way to find out.” He pulled me close to him and I felt his face bury into my neck. I giggled as he began to kiss up and down my neck.

“Ben…..that tickles!”

“Oh really? Does it tickle when I do this?” I then felt his fingers dig into my sides which made me squirm even more. He got on top of me still continuing his ticklish assault as I begged him to stop while trying to shove his hands away from my sides. He ceased his attack and said with a grin, “Say please.”

“Please.”

“Now say uncle.”

“Uncle.” I giggled out. He smiled down at me before capturing my lips with his in a soft and loving kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck bringing him closer.

Our kiss got deeper and more passionate until the need for air became a problem. As we separated, we stared into each other’s eyes and I said breathlessly.

“How did I ever get so lucky?”

“I should be asking you that my love.” He kissed my brow and lay back down on his back. I crawled up onto his chest and lay my head over his heart while his arms wrapped around me and I felt his hand stroke down my hair. I felt him kiss the crown of my head and I heard him humming “Somebody to love” I smiled and said.

“You know that’s Joe’s song right?”

“Yeah, but it’s also your song. You did say that Somebody to love was the first Queen song you sang at your school’s karaoke.”

“How do you remember that? We were drunk when I confessed that.”

“Even shitfaced I’d still remember what you’d say.” I awed at him and nuzzled into his chest and felt him kiss my head again. “I love you (y/n).”

“I love you too Ben.” We pecked each other’s lips gingerly and just stayed in bed for the rest of the day cuddling, watching Netflix and of course Ben had to start another tickle fight the sneaky bastard.

But I’m happy to finally say that all because of getting lessons from a cardboard cutout and the persistence of a true friend, I finally got the man of my dreams.

#bohemian rhapsody #bohemian rhapsody movie #bohemian rhapsody imagines #bohemian rhapsody x reader #borhap boys #borhap cast imagine #joe mazzello #ben hardy #ben hardy imagines #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy x reader #joe mazzello imagines #joe mazzello x reader #joe mazzello imagine #gwilym lee #rami malek #queen #queen fanfic #queen imagine

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robot-unicorn-attack · 5 years ago

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CHAPTER 03 - NYX

Taglist: @ayzrules @bebemoon @interluxetumbra @filthysoulls @jay-swagsby @shiftyprincess @now-on-elissastillstands / @elissastillstands

Walking through those doors, Sol was immediately bombarded with lights and sounds. It was a press conference, the same layout as it had been for every post race in the past and will continue to be for every one in the future. Though, Sol would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy them. Relatively speaking, of course.

She enjoyed the fact that she could string everyone along with whatever story she could come up with and the reporters ate it up like it was going to give them the answers to eternal life. 'Complete suckers' she had thought after the first round of questioning past back during her first year. Ever since, she's garnered a taste for the lime light. Well… maybe a bit before then…

However, even though she walked through as a villain would, something was off about this particular post event. There were reporters, yes, but something else stuck out to her and before she could narrow it down, someone was whisking her away to touch up her makeup - having it smeared from the heat of the race - and then ushered her to a seat.

A growl formed low in the back of her throat and her chest was tight with the expletives she was about to spew. A woman..

"Tell us, Nyx, did you have a hand in the fall of racer Basilisk of Abraxilis Racing?"

Coy Cheshire smile, "What ever gave you that idea?"

Lights continued to go off around the room as she waited for the reply from the others. They were getting wet with anticipation at the potential drama being sifted and sorted. Which way were they going to spin their stories this time around? Sol had to keep herself from the barf noises she wanted to make at the expense of everyone there.

"It's no surprise to anyone here. Or on the track, that your methods are less than honorable."

She allowed a hum in response as the reporter continued, "it only makes sense that the cause of Basilisk's... accident would be malicious in nature. And the only one devious enough to pull it off is you, Nyx."

"Oh stop it, Zaera," she playfully threw her hands at the reporter as if she told the funniest joke, "you're gonna boost my ego tenfold if you keep showering me with praise like that~"

There was a faint bit of uncomfortable chuckling from the other side of all the lights and Sol couldn't help but flash a big wicked grin in their direction. Eyes catching the flash of light and casting their glow across the room. It was surreal. As if they were in the presence of an actual deity.

"Nyx, Nyx! Tell us, c'mon, did you do it? Did you somehow sabotage Basilisk's ride?" The murmurs that kicked up were hushed but adamant. They wanted to know they wanted answers.

Sol shifted around in her seat to make herself more comfortable. Long limbs dangle where they could. Head tilting from side to side as if contemplating life's problems. As if she had the solutions.

Another wicked gleam and grin sent them in a frenzy, "Torrid Gorge is a tricky, tricky track. I can't be to blame every time a racer can't handle their ride."

More clicks from the cameras. More flashes go catch her molten stare. More questions were asked and then answered or just avoided entirely. The usual were thrown out.

Who are you wearing? McQuinth, of course. The label partnered with Noxian~ to create something perfect for a deity such as myself

What was going through your mind during the start middle end of the race? Oh, you know. How to take the turns, whether or not dashing into golems is going to ruin someone's run. How fucking hot it is on the track… the usual.

What was the incident at the Neon Demon about? The argument between you and Widowmaker? If my beloved teammate hasn't spilt the beans, than neither shall I. It isn't becoming of a lady to kiss and tell, now is it?

Etc. Etc.

In the midst of all the questioning came a moment where the air around the room became stagnant and almost icy. Sol can remember precisely when the goosebumps rose to the surface of her skin, almost tickling her in a way that scared her. Not a moment too soon after the experience the room was all a tizzy with alarms and chimes and bells gluing off signaling notifications to all the press present. She could even hear faint noises from the other rooms. Similar situation going on everywhere, she mused.

Even Allryn, off to the side, was answering a call in a heated hushed tone, while a small holoscreen in the palm of his hand lay open for his viewing.

A reporter called out to Nyx, drawing her attention and focus back to the room now occupied my hungry wolves rather than the timid reporters from earlier. What ever it was that came in, really got their journalism blood going.

"Were you aware that Basilisk raced for the company Abraxilis?"

The question was random and it took her a moment to process those words. Just what was it that came in that has everyone in a jumpy state?

"You have already asked me this." It was evident that she was getting annoyed with the badgering and focusing on her did she didn’t she sabotage bit. At least to Allryn, it was obvious. "Please, Nyx, answer the question." They were dead focused on her answers. Hanging to her every word more so than normal. Their eyes wide and if she had the ability to gauge the sizes of their ears she would have guessed they had enlarged enough to catch even a whisper from her lips.

Sol released a very auditable sigh, "Yeah, of course. I'm aware of all the racers and their teams and sponsors. It comes with the territory." A flick of her wrist to show her disinterest in these lines of questionings. Hoping they would get the memo and proceed to something with a bit more sustenance.

"So then you are aware that councilman Cedric Abraxas was the founder and CEO of said company?"

A slow nod from the goddess. "Yes? I'm afraid I'm not following..."

"Let me break it down for you," Sol noticed Allryn slowly approach her location, eyes trained in on the interviewer, "We have just been informed that Lucira Artelcro aka "Basilisk" is in critical condition and may never race again." The crowd that occupied the room around her was a buzz. That must have been what the notifications were about. Basilisk's condition. No matter. It wasn't like that affected her at all…

"Makes it a little less crowded on the track~" she let out a soft chuckle but the interviewer continued. Some people even began filing out in a hurry after checking their screens one last time. And to say that that wasn't interesting would be a down right lie. If anything it peaked her interest quite a lot. Why would they leave before the interview was over? It wasn't like they were there for very long… 45 minutes max after a race.

"Were you aware of councilman Abraxas' death earlier this evening?"

"What does that have to do with me?" Although, yes, it definitely caught her attention. The death of a political figure in Unicorn City, no matter how corrupt the guy was, still warranted a modicum of attention.

"As you are well aware, Basilisk's team is owned by the aforementioned councilman and his company, Abraxilis. So you can see how the two instances taking place tonight, at roughly the same time, looks very suspicious. Especially for you."

"Again. I fail to see the comparison." This was all too much. Even for Sol. Hell even for Nyx, the Goddess herself. Why was this reporter hounding her on the councilman's death? So what? It's not like she had anything to do with it. She was n the track, anyone with eyes and half a brain cell could tell you that that was where she was at the time of his death So, why all the questions?

"If you're looking to ask me something specific I suggest you find the backbone to do it, otherwise this is over-" she makes to rip off the mic clipped precariously to the fabric of her cleavage and begins shifting in her spot and get up when there was a voice that called out over the hustle and bustle, "Was it on purpose?"

"Hmm?" Her eyes narrowed as she locked onto her new target within the audience. Halting her movements, waiting for them to continue further.

"W-what I mean is. The accident with Basilisk and the attack on Abraxas. Was it on purpose? Did you do it?" They tried so hard to exude courage and confidence in their voice as they projected the questions towards her. She could literally taste the nervousness in the air.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Was it some sort of political attack on Abraxas and his policies involving the rezoning of the Barzan provinces?" Cedric Abraxas, he voted against sending aid to Ser'hld IX more than enough times before the moon was finally destroyed. Sol remembers when the issue was fresh and it was all anyone was talking about those many years ago. And then when Leni entered her life and was able to open up to her, she would lean on Sol as she lamented her home's destruction. The only reason Sol knows so much and cares enough about Ser'hld is all thanks to Leni. So is she glad that the man, who could have stopped and saved an entire moon's population, is dead and murdered no less? Abso-fucking-lutely.

"So you aren't denying involvement with either incident then?" Shit did she say that aloud?

Before she shoved her foot any further down her throat as she likely would have, Allryn swooped out from the shadows and gracefully, yet forcefully, took Sol by the arm and raised her to a standing position. He muttered just loud enough for her to hear for her to keep her mouth shut and to act natural.

"Thank you all, that'll be all for tonight." The way he took over the room with the authority of power, it sent a shock of electricity through her. But it wasn't in a way that was pleasant. Not in the slightest. Allryn was taking control of a serious situation, a mess that she herself decided to dig in to. Any backlash on his part was due because of her. "Any further questioning will be taken up by the panel. Please submit any and all recordings through the correct LAZER channels and the other racers will be more inclined to answer at a later time. Thank you all." He waved them off, turning his back on them literally, in order to escort Sol off the small platform and back through the door she emerged from not but an hour earlier.

Still they shouted their questions and still camera and lights and flashes were going off. They even tried to push past the additional LAZER security at the back door to follow; all in the name to get to the bottom of the coincidence of the century.

Abraxas top racer physically unable to compete anymore and he himself out of commission permanently? Seems a bit suspicious.

And the only one at the center of it all, was Nyx.

#sol #nyx #writing #ch3 #written by kzzzz

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thepilotanon · 6 years ago

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Prelude xvii

...to the next stage {masterlist}

It’s officially cold outside and all I want to do is find some Supreme Leader Kylo to snuggle and keep warm. Thank you to everyone who sent very sweet messages last chapter, I really appreciate and love reading them (that warms me up, hahah). Please feel free to leave a message and I hope you will enjoy!

warning: slight violence, but nothing too graphic.

General Armitage Hux was used to being put on the spot, especially when it came to working the First Order. For him, he was born and raised in military glory, in conducting a symphony of armies and battles to succession and winning against the Resistance, or any other small military militia attempting to overthrow the golden title for the galaxy’s future. His father never failed to remind him of being a little speck in the vast galaxies of planets, moons and stars, yet he knew that he stood over Brendol Hux with his dying breath. He knew the galaxy saw power in him, even as he died with his eyes open, still staring at his only son, there was no words of comfort or love ever given to him. General Armitage Hux was used to being disappointed to the point of holding a grudge, this was not news…

But he was not used to biting back his fear with the sight of the Supreme Leader’s female apprentice entered the main bridge. Alone, without the guidance of the Commander Ren as usual of her outings.

Turning around to face the main window of the Supremacy, Hux forced himself to keep his cool as he heard the familiar boots of Nova’s steps approach him from behind. A few officers greeted the incoming visitor, which she obviously responded with a smile in her voice that made Hux’s chest twist. It took a moment for Hux to see from his peripheral vision of Nova’s familiar profile, her hands reaching out to the hologrid and beginning to insert specific keys to activate a holomap and data files. For a few, quiet moments, neither one of them said anything as the clicking of boards and beeps of machines continued on.

“Good morning, Hux,” Nova spoke smoothly, her voice causing an invisible shiver within his spine.

Swallowing, Hux then cleared his throat. He didn’t say anything in response to her greeting, feeling it to be a trap or some sort. However, his eyes darted to peek at the holograms she projected to herself, her fingers moving fluidly across the transparent screens, opening and closing files within moments of a simple glance.

“I’m looking at the files of the ‘troopers and officers I trained on Starkiller Base, to see if they are keeping up with their studies and improvements,” she said, making Hux freeze and look away as he realized that she was looking into his thoughts - or was he projecting them for her to see? He didn’t know.

Hux remembers how Nova defeated Snoke’s strongest Elite so easily, making him think of all the possible ways she could attack him.

“Was that intimidating to you?” her voice crept up his shoulder like a ghost, making him stiffen. “Perhaps, if you desire to ease that fright you feel, you should join me when I help train the ‘troopers. I learned very young that being exposed to things you fear most, often makes you used to it.”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t voice my personal thoughts out to the open of the bridge,” Hux hissed out through his teeth, making Nova hum curiously. “Stop reading my thoughts. It’s an invasion of privacy I still have aboard this ship.”

“You say that, yet Snoke and Kylo can also read you like a book,” Nova responded casually. “Even Phasma can read an expression exposed, it’s not that hard.”

“Mind you that I merely pretend that my thoughts are my own privacy, and intend to keep it that way.” Hux exhaled when her only response was an amused shrug, her hand sliding across the holoscreen to disengage, closing the files all at once. “And not speaking so loudly about my thoughts, either. It’s considered very rude.”

“Not as rude as partaking in having your sibling inject my body with poisons,” Nova whispered, making Hux choke on his own saliva and begin a coughing fit. A passing officer offered him some assistance, yet he waved them away when Nova finally turned to look at him, meeting his eyes…

And smiled brightly before turning to leave from where she entered, saying her farewells to everyone in the bridge.

Hux followed after her with fury, ignoring the confused stares of his underlings and stormtroopers darting out of his way.

Grabbing her by the shoulder, Hux pushed her against the nearest wall, doing his best to radiate his anger towards her inside and out. She didn’t seem fazed by any of it, a simple blink by the hard shove against her collarbone and a bored, expressionless stare.

“She was not -” Hux collected himself to speak quieter, but still venom in his voice while the ship continued on with their day. “She was not my sister!”

“From what I understand, offsprings from a similar parent are considered to be related to each other, therefore siblings,” she responded casually. “You two were related from the same father.”

“Half,” Hux hissed out. “She was my half-sister, but she was never anything close to family.”

Nova’s brows knitted together carefully. “I don’t understand, you say you were not family, and yet you can’t stop thinking that she’s no longer alive.”

Hux swallowed as Nova leaned her head forward, keeping direct eye contact with him, and he felt his skin grow cold from the analyzing stare. “You wonder what happened to her, and how you two shared the same childhood home and servants; how Mara was as brutal to those who poked fun at you as a child, yet offered you kind smiles when she shared extra food with you that her own mother wouldn’t spare for you.”

Frowning, Nova tilt her head. “Different mothers. The one person Mara could never protect you from, and you tell yourself that you hold that against her to become much higher ranked than her. How you felt glad to see her when she entered the throne room while you and Snoke were conversing…”

“She knew what she was doing -”

“And how she was willing to take her life before being caught, but it was too late,” Nova finished with a monotone voice, making the General loosen his hold on her. “You still wonder if it was me who killed her, for trying to poison me for your leader?”

A smile emerged on her face. A sweet, innocent smile that struck right through his chest, as if his own being was in danger. “Oh, Hux, I didn’t execute her,” she confessed kindly. “If it was me who had the honor of killing the ones who were poisoning me, you would have definitely have known. You were also involved.

“My methods of getting revenge and even to those who intended to harm me would have included witnesses that didn’t do anything to stop it,” she explained, as if explaining today’s food portions by color. “I would have started with Mara, of course, but I’d bring her to everyone else to see what to expect. One at a time, slow and painful.”

Seeing how he swallowed thickly, Nova’s eyes glowed with sort of amusement that matched her times playing with random droids aboard the ship. “Ah, now you’re wondering what I would have done! Well, I’m sorry to tell you, Hux, but I don’t like ruining surprises like that. I was taught to never let my target suspect what I’ll do to them…”

Going to her toes, Nova’s soft lips reached to his ear as she whispered so quietly for only Hux to hear. “However, if you’re so curious to know how I would torture my targets, you can always volunteer yourself for a demonstration.”

Hux tried to keep his racing heart down and his thoughts locked away from her, trying to protect himself from being read like a simple younglings’ book. He couldn’t believe everything Nova discovered from just a short amount of time, unless…

Could Snoke or even Kylo Ren read him, and he never noticed?

A sudden pressure to his wrist, Hux’s mouth dropped open to release a silent, agonizing cry when the woman squeezed her much smaller fingers around his circulation, twisting it around. It wasn’t enough to cause a sprain or cracking his bones, yet it still hurt immensely with the way Nova’s expression dropped to a neutral, bored stare as she watched him curl forward and trying to release her grip on him. Leaning down to his ear again, Nova whispered with a more threatening tone that would for sure haunt the General’s nightmares for quite some time.

“Until then, keep your hands off me.”

He stumbled a bit when she casually released him, for her to be so unaffected by anything as she kept her back straight and her smile soft, her hands resting easy at her side as she tipped her head. “My sincere condolences, Hux,” she said, turning her heel and walking away.

Hux was left in the hallway with a bruised wrist, and a bruised ego.

Commander Kylo Ren sat in his room, minding the chilling floor underneath him and tickling his bare feet. Having finished training with his Master and then immediately going to spar with his Knights, Kylo had a filled schedule of constantly being on his feet and working around the Supremacy to the point that he didn’t have spare time to himself or with Nova. Not that it wasn’t common for the both of them to spend so much time, but Kylo felt a sort of tickle in the back of his head that he noticed something different about her from the little chances he had to steal a glance her way. The little, fleeting seconds of seeing her scurry by to her next task of directing a training group or follow officers to be educated on a meeting.

Her mind was at work, jumping from one thing to the next as Kylo could feel the energy of her attention focusing on numerous things at once. Her body never resting and her feet jumping from one spot to another, Kylo could see underneath her facade of her curious eyes and bright smile to others; there was something on her mind, and it was bothering her.

Not having to particularly ask through the Force of looking into her thoughts, or even ask to, Kylo decided to keep his helmet visor to turn her way when she did look towards him, just to let her know he knew. The little spark in her eye directed towards him, and the smile of her lips, was enough for him to continue on and wait until later.

Being that it was now the official night cycle, having finished his own spar and meetings with numerous fleets and bridges at General Hux’s side, Kylo took on a small meditation session to himself. It was somewhat interesting to see Hux having to take frequent breaks in between, massaging his wrist and ordering a cold pack to tuck underneath his sleeve…

No doubt of Nova’s Force remnants radiated off of it, yet Kylo didn’t pursue to look deeper.

Kylo felt the soft weight of her body leaning against his bare back, making him release a soft sigh at the feeling of her hands coming around his shoulders to give him an embrace, her cheek resting against the warm skin on his back. Opening his eyes and ending his meditation, he turned his chin to see her own closed and hair damp from her shower. She was dressed in her pajamas, a silk tunic top that draped over her body and long pants that matched, he felt the material of the clothing only enhance his definition of softness to her body, hair and eyes.

Moving to bounce his shoulder, Kylo allowed her to crawl around and into his embrace on the floor of his chambers. Inhaling the scent of her cleaned hair and fragranced skin, Kylo rest his cheek on top of her hair, relaxing when she snuggled her face into him. Her warm face pressed into his shoulder and breath tickling his neck.

Her thoughts quiet, yet her mind was still buzzing very noticeably.

“You’re curious about something,” he murmured into her skull, moving his lips to her temple to whisper closer to her ear. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m confused of the meaning of family,” she told him softly, making Kylo frown in confusion. “I do not understand, if you’re related by blood to someone, that is the direct definition of family. However, if you maintain a close relationship that is too high of friendship and below of lovers or so, it’s still similar… Yet, with either one, it doesn’t make sense as to why someone would reject them as such, if it makes the most sense.”

Tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, Kylo processed her words carefully. “You wonder why someone would reject their family, or something along the lines, over something that has nothing to do with their own personal gain.”

“Yes.” Looking up to him, Nova kept her hands on his bare chest, right over his heart. “Wouldn’t one rather be happy to be accepted into a family of sorts, or at least have one companion?”

“Bonds are not looked upon in -”

“I’m not asking this as a Force-user or being part of the First Order,” Nova interrupted him, frowning with sadness, “I’m asking as a living being.”

“Why do you ask?” he questioned her softly, not at all bothered by her sudden stubborness.

“I was taken away from the one who would have been my mother as soon as I was born. I was never given to anyone to be part of a family, only to serve families as a slave,” she told him. “I never got to meet my mother or father, much less know if I have brothers or sisters to call my own… For all I know, I could have killed them without even knowing who they were in combat or by force of an owner.”

Looking up to him, Nova bit her lip at seeing how intently he was looking at her, eyes unreadable. “When you think of your family, even when I don’t ask of them, you have warmth in your eyes and your heart eases. I know you do not have ties with them anymore, but your memories of them still linger, and I love seeing you have those wonderful memories to dream when you have a hard time and you don’t want to talk to me about it.

“Having those to look back on, I wish I could have the same thing, even if it was someone I wasn’t blood-related to,” Nova frowned, looking down to press her forehead to his collarbone. “When I hear or sense one who refuses to acknowledge individuals who give them nice memories...I don’t understand it?”

“And who was the one who inspired this mental conversation with yourself, Nova…”

“Some officers,” Nova answered honestly. “The blonde officer who works in the main bridge in the far right corner, next to the man and communication board; the older officer who brings Hux his caff on routine, and the one that I speak to sometimes before we go to eat lunch. A few ‘troopers under Phasma, and Phasma as well… There’s Hux, and then there is you.”

Kylo’s body stiffened under her touch, and she nuzzled her face further into his neck. “You’ve shown me the good and bad memories of your past, Kylo - of when you went by Ben - of your parents and uncle. I see you hold on to the good memories, and I wish I could have something along the lines of those possessions.”

“Memories?”

“Family moments,” she said softly, almost tired. “People to call family...or to be accepted as something more. I don’t know…”

It took a few long, quiet minutes, both of them remained unmoving, before she felt Kylo’s large, warm hand slip cautiously up her spine and into her wet hair. Nova’s eyes fluttered at the soothing motions of his fingertips massaging her scalp, combing through her wet tresses and avoiding tangles from the conditioner she used. His affectionate gesture caused her to stretch her back and crane her neck upward, sighing softly into his ear when he gave a light kiss to her covered shoulder. Once his hand slid down to cradle her lower back, Nova leaned a bit off of him to meet his gaze.

“I think I often reflect on good memories of my past self,” he spoke softly, his thumb rubbing along her spine with the most gentle strokes, “because, if I had the choice, I somewhat desire to create more of those happy memories someday, with a new family.”

“How does one form a new family?” she asked with furrowed brows.

Swallowing, Kylo used his other hand to push her hair away from her shoulder, admiring the smooth, silky material of her sleepwear. He kept his stare on the careful stitching on the top’s shoulder. “The formation of marriage between two beings also forms a new family between them,” he told her carefully. “Unlike how Bavva III slaves would be claimed to one another from others around them, the real, original meaning of marriage is a form of union between two people…”

“Union,” Nova repeated and Kylo nodded, the corner of his lip twitch.

“Oftentimes, marriage is for love of one another to be bound together, and no one else could separate them, emotionally or physically. Some marriages are for gain in power among families, some for political uses. But...I know more of marriage as to being in love with someone and want to offer them everything beyond something to sell or physically hold.”

“It sounds rare,” Nova mused softly, her imagination soaring for Kylo to see behind closed eyes. “Rare, but very beautiful, isn’t it?”

“I believe so, yes.”

Smiling, Nova lifted her hands and rest one of her palms over his beating heart. The other began trailing light, ticklish touches between each mole and faded scars across the expanse of his bare, broad chest. Familiar with his bare chest and arms from all the times he lounged and slept shirtless, she wasn’t shy about leaning forward to his collarbone and resting her lips against the curve of his clavicle in the comfort of his arms around her body. She hummed against his skin affectionately at the feeling of his fingers continuing their gentle massage to her spine, all the way up to her neck.

“I think you can still have happy memories, Kylo,” she whispered to him, her lips brushing up his neck and feeling his pulse. “I think you can have whatever you like.”

“As I think you can too, love.” Turning his cheek, angling his chin just right by the time her mouth reached his jawline, Kylo brushed his lips against hers with careful measure. “Remember, you’re a free being now, you can do whatever you wish without consequence or anyone to stop you by command.”

Allowing him to give her a quick kiss, Nova thought it over carefully. Sensing her mind sparking with thought, Kylo pulled away far enough to speak. “Yes, no one can stop you from doing what you wish,” he smiled against the corner of her lips.

Nova made a soft noise, bumping her nose with his as she continued to contemplate the possibilities. Kylo chuckled, giving her another quick kiss before rubbing up and down her back.

“It’s best to just forget of what is in the past,” Kylo suggested as he carefully lifted her off his lap and proceeded to get up. “Think of the future.”

Nova blinked, eyes following him as he stood at his full height and stretched his back. “Let the past die?”

Kylo released his stretch, meeting her gaze as he processed it. “So long as I know I’m not who I once was - a slave who battled - and that I have no more restrictions held against me, it would be best to let the past die, right?” she suggested, trying to find the right words.

Hunching down, Kylo gently cupped her face with both hands and pressed a careful kiss to her forehead, then down to her cheek. “Perhaps, if that is for the best,” he agreed. “I’m going to take a bath, alright? Try not to think too hard about it, you’re just fine, Nova.”

Watching him leave to his refresher and closing the door, Nova hummed a bit and listened carefully for him to prepare his tub and the sloshes of water before getting up and approaching the door. Using her knuckle to knock once, she waited until the hatch hissed open to enter the brightly lit refresher with the scent of the bath mix of strong mint and herbs to handle back aches and muscle soreness.

With Kylo’s back to her, his arms resting on the rim of the large tub with his knees peeking from the colored water - a deep red - turned his head to see her approach him in a similar way of greeting him earlier. Watching her approach his back and wrap her arms around his naked neck and chest, Nova rest her cheek on his shoulder with closed eyes. Biting his lip, Kylo waited before lifting his hand to lightly brush the top of her head, fiddling with a lock of her hair.

“What are you doing now?” he asked, seeing her smile yet refusing to open her eyes.

“Letting the past die,” she told him. “Only bad past memories, though. I refuse to let go at how warm you are, and how I love the touch of your skin; it makes me feel better knowing that I now share a comfortable, soft bed with someone who holds me and keeps me warm willingly.”

“When I meant by past, I actually meant with what was bothering you, love,” he corrected himself, a short exhale of what seemed like a dry chuckle causing her to open her eyes. “Of the past of when you were a slave, or with your parents - it doesn’t matter now, which is not the past.”

“Still, I’m letting it go to thinking of what I can appreciate now,” she proclaimed rather proudly, her lips in a grin. “You’re warm and strong, and I like it when you hold me. I also like how your body looks.”

“My body?”

Nodding, Nova lifted her head to press her mouth against the soft patch of his skin between his collarbone and shoulder. “You have pretty marks on your skin, like the stars and planets outside the Supremacy, and the scars are like shooting stars or flying asteroids. Still warm and comfortable, despite how strong you are physically, you hold me like I’m fragile. I’ve never had that before, and it feels wonderful.”

“Not fragile, treasured,” he corrected. She smiled at that, and Kylo leaned in to kiss the shape of her ear with a simple brush of his lips. Nova turned head closer, giving him a chance to nuzzle her better. “Very, very treasured. A treasure I adore and love,” he whispered, just to feel her giggle against his skin as he nipped her ear affectionately.

A part of Nova’s heart felt the swell of warmth, having herself tuck this small, warm and sweet moment into a new slot of memories for her future.

Fun fact: As Mara was based off of Mara Jade, learning that Hux’s father’s wife was named Maratelle Hux, figured this would be an interesting twist on Hux and Nova’s relationship.

taglist: @ayatimascd @ymariejp @yippee-ki-yay-motherfucker460@formerly-anonhamster @rosalynbair @redhairedfeistynerd @imyourdreamwife @kyloxfem @goth-pigeon

Remember, if you would like to be tagged for future chapters, please don’t hesitate to message me! I’d be more than happy to add you. Thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you!

#pilotanonwrites #kylo ren x reader #kylo x reader #preludekylofic #reader insert #oc/reader insert

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davidcampiti · 6 years ago

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A LIFE WITHOUT STAN LEE? -- Part One

This is the first month of my life without Stan Lee alive in it.

I think it’s appropriate to post this essay today, on Stan Lee’s birthday, the first one without him actually here to celebrate it. I couldn’t bring myself to write about Stan the day he died, just shy of 96 years old, and the week and month that followed were no better. Today I can put down some thoughts.

I am a child of Stan Lee. His work with Jack Kirby and John Romita appeared in the first comic book I remember reading – the Marvel-produced America’s Best TV Comics, a 25-cent comicbook that promoted the ABC Saturday morning cartoons. It's one of the first powerful memories of childhood that have stayed with me for all this time.

Across my formative years, Stan Lee's words encouraged me to learn, to read more of everything -- not just comics. I spent much of my early years in the library and ordering Scholastic books every month through school. I read everything -- fiction, biographies, histories, science books.

Yet I grew up loving the comics that blazed brightly with his public persona and, while my parents toiled at just earning a living and staying alive, I learned much from "The Man." Stan taught me a lot about being a decent human being. It wasn't all, "With great power there must also come...great responsibility," though that was there, as well.

In recent years we corresponded a bit about the morals and messages of his words in his scripts, his Stan's Soapbox, and his many lectures and interviews. I told him we should assemble a book, Everything I Know, I learned From Stan Lee.

He wrote back -- "The paperback you suggested, 'Everything I Know I Learned from Stan Lee,' sounds like it could be funny. Especially if it consists of only one page with only one thing learned -- how to spell 'Excelsior!' Keep the faith, David. You're one of the good guys! Excelsior! Stan"

We discussed it a bit more but, soon after, Stan's eyesight worsened and he stopped answering his own mail; whoever took over had no idea what we'd been talking about. I let the idea drop.

Back when I was 12, I decided my career goal was to work with Stan Lee. Eventually, I achieved that goal but not by submitting stories in my teens and 20s but much later in my life, as an agent and book author. By the time I was 14, he'd gone from editor-in-chief to Publisher -- which meant he'd need more writers, right?

The first time I met Stan Lee and got to take a photo with him, I looked up at him and said, “Smile, and look as much like my Uncle as you can.” He laughed and gave my artist friend Scott Rockwell and me a good half-hour of his time, looking at art and answering questions. That was in 1978 – fully 40 years ago – and I remember it all as if it were yesterday. Stan was a memorable guy who could make you feel like the most important person in the room. I only wish I still had that photo; maybe Scott has it buried somewhere.

Four years later, I sold my first professional comics scripts to Pacific Comics and two years after that was writing a Superman assignment for DC with Kevin Juaire. Instead of ending up at Marvel as I’d hoped – which would’ve required moving to New York and being involved in daily office politics – I became a comics packager, then a publisher, then an agent. That’s how Stan knew me professionally, as a writer and an artist’s agent.

In early 1989, at a Capital City Distribution trade show, my Innovation Publishing was set up promoting the books we would be releasing into comics shops in a few weeks. Stan was walking by, and I suggested to my assistant Paul Curtis that we should invite Stan to dinner. He ran over, asked, and Stan said yes! He not only brought along Carol Kalish and regaled us with two hours of stories about life at Marvel, Stan insisted that Marvel pay for the meal! Nobody thought to bring a camera, but the memories stayed with us. As I recall, Steve Sullivan, Paul Curtis and his girlfriend Amy, and I were the happy Innovation team at that dinner. Kevin VanHook came on the trip but was elsewhere at that time. He made up for it later at a party by chatting on a couch with Stan and later dancing with Carol.

In the '90s, Stan and I would chat at every opportunity at conventions.

When Marvel released a limited edition hardcover reprint of his 1947 book Secrets of the Comics, I decided to give in to my fannish impulses and use its endpapers as my autograph book.

Stan, of course, was the first to sign it in 1996, and a batch of Silver Age stalwarts followed.

By then we made it a point to get photos together every year across two decades. It was a clear timeline of the both of us getting older.

As the internet blossomed, I helped Stan a little when he first joined AOL. He asked me how AOL Instant Messenger worked, how to turn it on when he wanted to communicate and off when he didn’t want to be bombarded with Messages, and so on. Another time, an article he wanted to read was behind a login/password, and he asked me help get him through that. It tickled me to help Stan “The Man” with such basic web-things.

From the mid-'90s through the early 2000s, Stan would call the Glass House offices about once a month to ask for my perspective on what was going on in the comics biz, since we dealt not only with all the Marvel editors but everyone else as well. Real conversations, not the "'Nuff said, Pilgrim!" stuff. He'd graciously take an extra few minutes to chat with my assistant Graeme, who loved talking to his childhood icon.

Around 1997, Marvel's savvy publisher asked Glass House to create two dozen project proposals for a line of second-tier titles that my company would package. We ended up over-achieving and submitted 28 of them -- one of them for the first-tier Fantastic Four that I understood we had little chance of getting, but I had to try. The art was Joe Bennett's doing a Kirbyesque style.

Stan was kind enough to read over my FF proposal/outline and fine-tune my dialogue for the pages, before I submitted.

Likely worried about how an outside packager controlling so many titles would affect his own position, the editor-in-chief buried all 28 projects until, two years later, he assigned an editor to reject every proposal outright; that editor told me my FF dialogue didn't capture the essence of the characters -- not realizing the words were Stan's.

(Sidebar: It was so ridiculous, that editor even rejected a proposal that another Marvel editor already saw, bought, and published!)

When Meryl and I got married in 2001, Stan sent us a gift -- a lemon cake and a note saying he wished he could've made it to the wedding. We still have the note; we ate the cake.

In 2006, Stan's POW! Entertainment launched Who Wants to be a Super-Hero? on The Sci-Fi Channel, and my Glass House Graphics contributed all the cover artwork for both seasons of the TV show. We even drew the comicbooks that starred both winners -- Matthew Atherton and Jarrett Crippen, both of whom became our friends.

When my friend, then-GHG artist Will Conrad, worked with him on the Dark Horse Feedback comic book, Stan took the time personally to choose Will out of our roster of artists, and to phone him in Brazil for a long talk before sending him the plot. (And yes, it was a full page-by-page plot.) They spoke several times during Will's month working on the book, each time helpful and upbeat.

The second book, with The Defuser, was more problematic. The network and producers weren't honoring their commitments to the winner, so I reached out to Stan who said, "I don't see any compelling reason to bother doing it, since we weren't renewed for a third season." I replied, "Because you said you would? Because you have the power to do it, and with great power there must also come great responsibility?" He made it happen, and Glass House Graphics's Kajo Baldissimo did the art.

We also drew the box art and insert comic books for multiple DVD animation projects that POW! released, with art by GHG's fabulous Fabio Laguna.

Stan always made time to meet privately with my artists, and my family, for which I was always grateful.

Of course when Comics Buyer’s Guide published a big feature issue for Stan’s 75th Birthday, I contributed an essay and hired the great Marie Severin to do a caricature cover for it and sent Stan a giant print of the art.

Around the time of Stan's 90th birthday celebration, I had Tina Francisco create a new birthday cover for Comics Buyer's Guide, and I penned a long article about him, too.

Of course, we sent to Stan a poster of the color art, and he sent back this card -- as always, written in his own handwriting.

TO BE CONTINUED -- IN PART TWO!

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theatredirectors · 6 years ago

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Sammy Zeisel

Hometown?

Bethesda, MD.

Where are you now?

Chicago, IL.

What's your current project?

I just opened and closed The Late Wedding by Christopher Chen (one of my favorite contemporary playwrights) with a company called The Neighborhood. It was a strange, beautiful, and difficult play about Italo Calvino, heartbreak, and the transmigration of souls performed in the "Rummage Room" of a church. We sourced all of our props from the boxes of shit that were left in the space after the church rummage sale and got some great use out of the organ that happened to be there, too. The whole thing was kind of magical.

I also am in post production on a short film about a girl getting her period for the first time at her friend's birthday party titled The Care and Keeping of You.

Why and how did you get into theatre?

Well, my mom is the Associate Artistic Director of Imagination Stage, a children's theatre in Washington DC. I grew up in rehearsal rooms. As I'd imagine is the case for most of us, I started out acting at summer camps and in school plays. While I was playing Renfield in my high school production of Dracula, it occurred me that I might actually I want to do this for the rest of my life.

What is your directing dream project?

I always find this question difficult because I see myself as highly responsive to the people and places at my disposal. A piece of theatre does not make sense to me out of context.

THAT SAID I love me some Chekhov. Specifically, I've been on a bit of a Cherry Orchard kick recently. There are secrets contained in that play about the potential for (or futility of) human change that speak directly to this moment. The political and the personal are so beautifully intertwined. Plus, it’s goofy as hell. Chekhov plays embrace the entire contradictory mess of being a human. How to not, as a director, deny those contradictions by providing easy answers? I see that as an ultimate directing challenge.

What kind of theatre excites you?

I like theatre that takes on the responsibility of its liveness. This can happen in so many different ways: virtuosic physicality (a tap dance?), engagement with the audience's imagination (a person becomes a bird?), direct engagement with the audience (playful meta-theatricality?), or--maybe my favorite--some sort of more subtle, silent communion (Annie Baker). A piece of theatre is not just a story, it is an event; a director is not just a storyteller, she is a coordinator of moments in real-time.

I like to see truthful characters interacting within strange theatrical forms. I think that is what we are: deeply human creatures inside of forms that we do not understand. I like theatre that embraces uncertainty and, in that way, coaxes us to into a more comfortable relationship with our own uncertainty. Violence (outward and inward) stems from a need for control within life, and so, theatre that makes us to sit in an uncomfortable state of unknowing has the capacity to make us gentler.

Finally, I seek out any art that contains a little hint of the inarticulable. A piece of art should contain secrets.

Also probably all theatre should be funny.

What do you want to change about theatre today?

We have a lot of conversations about the need for riskier choices when it comes to content. And we do need that. We should be constantly pushing the boundaries of content and honoring stories that have been neglected. But those stories should also be paired with riskier forms. From what I can tell, theatre companies are more frightened by experiments in theatrical form than almost anything else--probably because a challenging form has perhaps the highest potential of turning an audience off (audience members didn't walk out of The Flick because it is about three people who work at a movie theatre). In the age of Netflix, however, if we do not find forms that are inherently theatrical we will become obsolete. But if we find inherently theatrical forms that contain the electricity of live communion, we will be providing something that the world is desperately hungry for.

And obviously we have to figure out some way to make theatre more accessible. Theatre is basically a hobby for rich people. It's just true, and we all know it and are deeply embarrassed by it. But what can we do to combat this? I certainly don't know. But it might have something to do with returning to bare essentials. We need to be paying artists and we need to be lowering ticket prices, so what gives? What if we made our productions with fewer resources? What if we placed the storytelling weight firmly on the back of the actors and the imagination of the audience? After all--engagement, intimacy, communion--this is REALLY what we offer. Within greater constraints, we might cut costs and revive our medium in the meantime.

What is your opinion on getting a directing MFA?

Not sure. Probably right for some and not for others. I am personally intrigued. I would love some time to discover myself outside of the crucible of the "real world."

Who are your theatrical heroes?

Oof ok here are a couple that come to mind right now:

Anne Bogart (her discipline, her articulation, her curiosity),

Will Eno (his verbal playfulness, his sadness, the intimate communion of his plays),

Andre Gregory (his spiritual/minimalistic approach, Vanya on 42nd St.),

Mary Zimmerman (her theatrical imagination, her physicalization, her childlike wonder)

Annie Baker (her lessons in patience, restraint, yearning character),

Edward Albee (his social critique, his plea for honesty, his courage in the face of the void)

Sarah Ruhl (magic, poetry)

Charlie Kaufman (film director, a storytelling North Star)

My mom

Any advice for directors just starting out?

I am a director who is just starting out, so anything I say is also advice to myself. So here are a couple of things I have to tell myself over and over:

You are you. The more directors you watch, the more you see that no two directors do ANYTHING the same way. In fact, equally incredible directors do things in precisely opposite ways. What does that mean? What makes those directors good? They are good because they know themselves. They are working from a place of personal authenticity that no one could have possibly taught them. And so you cannot emulate them. Emulating a good director will make you a bad director. You can only work at getting closer and closer to the director that you were meant to be from the beginning.

Direct stuff. You can only discover who you are as a director by directing. Find cheap-as-shit spaces. Hold rehearsals in your apartment. Produce your own ten-minute play festivals. Do stuff that leads nowhere because it all leads somewhere.

Direct the kind of stuff you say you want to direct. I've had a tough time with this one. It can be scary to actually DO the work that you say you love. Because it's super vulnerable, I guess. But until you present the work that actually feels like your jam, no one will have any idea what your jam is. You probably won't even know. Be brave enough to do the work that turns you on.

Craft is generosity. It's not all about discovering who you are. Directing is a craft. And by that I mean, there are concrete skills involved: how do you create varied stage pictures? How do you make sure an audience hears important information? How do you stage compelling transitions? Maybe think of getting better at these things as acts of generosity. When you put work into these elements, you show an audience that you care about every second of their experience.

You will disappoint yourself. Making stuff comes at a price. You will feel inadequate, and you will make work that doesn't feel like you. Lean in. Hold on to faint glimmers of hope. Do better every time. Inch closer and closer.

Interrogate your privilege. If you are doing this, you are probably the beneficiary of a certain amount of privilege. I am the beneficiary of a massive amount. If this is true for you, acknowledge it. Interrogate the narratives you are drawn to. Think twice before putting yourself on stage. Doubt yourself and listen to the wisdom of the less privileged. Use the love and care you've enjoyed in your life to create loving, caring spaces for others.

Be kind. Be critical of the work you see, but be curious about where your criticism comes from. How would you like your own work to be seen? How can you approach other artist’s work with that same generosity? Separate intention from execution and acknowledge how terrifying it is just to be out here trying. Strive to be an enthusiast: you will learn more, people will want to work with you, and the inside of your own head will be a nicer place to live. (You will also be a better director if you are not driven by ego, insecurity, and a need to prove.)

Don't listen that hard to people's advice. Most people who are giving you advice are telling you what they need to hear, not what you need to hear. Nobody knows what they're doing, and no-one moves forward in the same way.

Read more books, listen to more music, watch more movies, think about things a lot

Plugs!

Rumple: Last year, I developed a children's musical adaptation of Rumpelstiltskin with Chicago folk band, Friends of the Bog. It's a feminist re-telling of the strange old tale, filled with stellar folk jams and tap dancing puppets. It's weird, theatrical, and full of heart (think Pig Pen Theatre Co. meets Spongebob). And we are looking for a home for it. Hit me up if this tickles you and you have a lead.

Beth Hyland: One of the best young playwrights in Chicago or probably the country. She's also my pal. If you don't know her, you should get on that.

Chicago: The reputation that Chicago has for community and authenticity is grounded firmly in reality. Artists are struggling in Chicago as much as they are anywhere else but they are surrounded by their friends. There is vital, community-building theatre happening out here in church rummage rooms and abandoned storefronts. Just saying.

My website. My email: [email protected]

#Sammy Zeisel #askadirector #theatre directors

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horny-gold · 6 years ago

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Got anymore hornigold headcanons?

I got a lot of random ones, but I haven’t been in the habit of writing much lately. I’d take them with a grain of salt

Let’s see…

Had no direct descendants but siblings back around King’s Lynn (I prefer that for his hometown between the two AC suggested). His family loved him and he had a decent upbringing around the docks and fishin vessels. Fond memories of cockle gathering in the Wash. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wanted to die a respectable man of some quality, not bring his family (and name) shame.

BenThatch had a heated argument or two over shifting to piracy once the war was over. Ben came around after being a diva

If someone were to enter the animus and explore Ben’s memories they’d have to utilize memories from sibling lines, Kenway, others he knew + his observatory vial. Abstergo had the vials from the Roberts stash in 2014, but claim Assassins destroyed them. Well you know what? Fuck you, Ubi. They didn’t destroy his.

Generally grew unhappy with his life as a pirate. He had highs and lows and eventually became totally disenchanted. Had his personal code of honor and rules that sometimes got in the way of profit (and success as a pirate).

Lost his hat more than once explaining why he never had one in his scenes

I think he is humorous. Some interpretations make him always serious… Kind of wry and biting humor sometimes, but sometimes just genuinely likes to inject humor and poke fun. We see his humor fade as he reaches wit’s end with his predicament. Also with humor, he gets more ridiculous as he continues to drink and smoke. But it can also lead to brooding. Really depends on the mood before he gets drunk (or high). And yeah, he definitely gets high and still got high as a Templar lol

Naval background, but despite what you might think, his career didn’t last very long before he went privateer. There’s no way he’d go back to the navy. He likes the idea of order, but deep down, he can’t live under such rigid command (ideally he’s in charge amirite). Even as a Templar you see he’s doing his own thing as a pirate hunter.

Hearing Chamberlaine call him scum hit him harder than you’d expect, as it made him recall his naval days. Having a third option (Woodes & Templars) got him.

He genuinely wanted Vane and Rackham to sign the pardon along with the rest.

Felt abandoned at Nassau and saw no point supporting a Republic no one else would contribute to. Once Thatch, his best and longest ally left, he was pretty much done with the illusion it would function freely.

Ben went along with Thatch’s ‘Blackbeard’ persona up to a point. More or less like: “Sure whatever tickles your fancy, Thatch” while he knocked back a drink. I think he initially gave positive feedback, cause he also was for theatrics before bloodshed. Thatch went too far, though…

Not a huge fan of Blackbeard’s beard, leading to more drama.

Was brassed off about Thatch and his wives, whether or not they were tall tales or truths. He probably interfered with any of that in Nassau

He grew the sideburns out once he started pirating. He looked more like his concept art as a privateer.

Usually has his hair down when he sleeps on land. At sea, eh might be better to keep it tied back.

His home in Nassau is the one with the Union Jack on the main street in the middle of town leading to the beach

Was actually involved in improving the fort which we didn’t see in the game as well and would pay pirates with booze to move cannons and do repairs with him.

Ben is a verbal top, powerbottom, or bossy bottom. I think there’s some room for exceptions, depending on the partner…

Wanted Kidd on his ship, and I think he’d have invited Kidd to serve aboard (idk if it happened). I don’t think we ever saw the two exchange a single word, but I like to imagine they were on decent terms before shit happened.

Egocentric to an extent, and that egocentricity gives way to horrible brooding lows when things are looking down. What makes Ben a Templar is he wants control of himself, his life, his ship. Chaos for too long scares the shit out of him. Losing a few ships and command, for example, was a terrible blow to his ego and would increase his drinking. He’d save himself before Nassau in most projections…

Ben genuinely likes passing on the craft, theory, and strategy of the sea to others. He likes teaching but I think he’s done it so much he comes off as a know it all at times. And yeah, being revered as the man who knows how to board ships so well and seeing his methods used does give him an ego boost.

Isn’t above jealousy and was jelly of Jackdaw and Queen Anne’s Revenge. Dick measuring contest stuff. Knows he can sail better than both though!

Ben doesn’t really share much about his personal life and personal problems except to Thatch and a few other veteran sailors like Cockram and Burgess. I think he opened up to them a lot more.

Did all of this shit for adventure and plunder. In his early dreams, he imagined getting rich and retiring with an estate like one of the 17th-century pirate gentlemen. Why when Kenway is talking about it he looks so amused. He’s been there, he knows it’s a lie and not possible in their century. It’s kind of sad to him.

Died on the beach like in the book, the boat crashed also because it was in a hurricane (Ben could navigate that with ease otherwise. This is BEN.), but has the cutscene with his final words to Kenway from the game. I think he deserved a death in combat; after all, he was one of the ones who taught Kenway to fight

Grieved a lot for Thatch in private but outwardly was ‘I WARNED HIM, the pillock!’

Ben doesn’t always respect personal boundaries and is touchy-feely, especially with those he considers friends ‘and such.’ That includes hugs, pokes, bumps, putting an arm around.

Had circumstances worked out differently in some ‘ideal’ animus projection, would have helped Thatch in Carolina. Aided Kenway had he been told about Templars, granted he could be convinced early on. There’s other woulda coulda, shouldas…idc

The ‘medicines’ were more than just medicines for Nassau and represented Thatch & Hornigold’s rocky relationship and trying to keep Ben’s interest in keeping Nassau a truly ‘free’ pirate republic.

As far as all the ships he’s had, Ben is the most prickly about the Benjamin getting damaged. It’s a real mystery why he’d do that to himself. He has a gut feeling if the Benjamin goes, then he will follow not long after…

#horniasks #aesthetic gonna take longer tho

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efnewsservice · 7 years ago

Link

November 30, 2017

Gabrielle Anwar interview.

In ABC’s newest series premiere, Once Upon a Time, actress Gabrielle Anwar takes on a role that’s unfamiliar territory for her—the diabolical, manipulative stepmother to Cinderella, Lady Tremaine. In a whimsical, old-world fairy tale meets new-world story, iconic fictional characters and modern-day collide into a complex, mythical drama series set in the town of Hyperion Heights. The show has been widely praised by audiences around the country for six seasons, and the seventh season marks a significant reboot of the show, meaning new characters, locations and a new “curse”—it also marks the debut of Gabrielle Anwar and fellow newcomer Dania Ramirez to the well-established cast. Here, Haute Living catches up with the star and discusses the new show, shooting in Vancouver, life in Miami, her directorial debut and what else she’s working on in between:

HL: Tell us about Once Upon a Time. How is it going so far?

GA: It’s very interesting to get back in front of the camera after having been behind it for the last three years, so it’s an exercise of discipline and surrender.

HL: How were you cast in your role?

GA: I had been reading scripts on and off for the last three years, with not much intention of doing anything unless it really tickled my fancy. I was visiting my daughter Willow in California, and I got a call from my agent and he was telling me there’s a great role of the wicked stepmother in Once Upon a Time on ABC, and I said “Once Upon a Time” out loud because I couldn’t fully hear what he was saying, and my 13-year-old daughter starting bouncing around the store exclaiming, “Mommy, you have to do it! You have to do it!” So basically that’s how I ended up living in Vancouver for 10 months [laughs].

HL: That’s exciting. How is it to enter the show in the midst of its seventh season as a regular?

GA: Well, it’s always tricky to enter a new job when things are well established no matter what line of business you’re in because there’s a certain environment that’s been established from day one, and you’re tip-toeing around just to find your footing. The cast has been very welcoming, which is really nice. I’ve found that the trickiest thing is for me to step back into the schedule of being on a television show because it is very demanding and filled with long hours. It’s tough because we’re all characters playing two versions of themselves. It’s almost like filming a feature film every week.

HL: Explain what the day looks like.

GA: We film a lot of footage that we don’t know if we necessarily need, but it’s good to have in case. We have to film tremendous amounts with elaborate costumes and storylines—I really take my hat off to those costume crew members who have been there since day one—it’s a lot of work, but it is very remarkable to see what comes out of it.

HL: What’s your favorite part about getting to play Lady Tremaine? Is this a totally different type of role for you compared to others in the past?

GA: My favorite thing about this character is that she is diabolical. She is really cruel and vicious and doesn’t apologize for it. She’s quite fun to play. I don’t see any resemblance to pretty much any character I’ve ever played because I usually end up playing someone with their heart in the right place. But I’ve been doing this for 33 years, and it’s fun to finally get to play a different type of role after all this time. It’s quite liberating.

HL: What’s the dynamic like between the cast on set? Who do you primarily work with?

GA: I work with a young actress named Adelaide Kane who was the star of the TV show Reign. She is a queen—absolutely stunning and incredibly gifted as an actress. I also spend a lot of time with Dania Ramirez who plays alongside me as my stepdaughter Cinderella—she was in the show Devious Maids prior. She’s fantastic, and I have to say it’s such a pleasure to be playing the role with a Latina Cinderella—she’s so fresh and alive, and she has this tremendous energy. We’ve become quite friendly as we’ve both been acclimatized as the new chicks on the block.

HL: What’s it like shooting in Vancouver? What’s your favorite part about the new city?

GA: I love the scenery—the landscaping is extremely conducive to hiking, which I’ve been partaking in, and that’s something I miss terribly in Miami because that’s not really available. And the Canadian people here are just so chill and friendly, and it’s a whole different pace of life up here. But I am missing the warm weather in Miami. I was born and raised in England where I was conceptually frozen all the time, but it’s been awhile since I got a taste of the cold weather! I am looking forward to those ThermaCare heat wraps from the pharmacy so I can wrap myself up like a mummy [laughs]. I love the convenience of a tropical climate. And of course, I miss my family and my bed! There’s nothing quite like your own bed.

HL: Of course. Aside from your new role in Once Upon a Time, how have things been following the debut of your documentary, Sexology?

GA: It’s been really well received, which I am extremely proud of. We’ve translated it into a number of different languages so that it could be more widely viewed. I’ve had so many women approach me and talk to me about it asking for contacts so that they can start their own healing process, which has been really rewarding. I am hoping to build this website to actually be an educational tool so that one could go on their own and partake in their own personal sexual revolution.

HL: What was the best part about producing?

GA: Being able to call all the shots. Also, working with an all-female cast was amazing—the scheduling was very flexible. We wanted to do it in a very feminine and undulating, organic way. It obviously takes much longer that way, but it is an entire reinvention of filmmaking, and it was one of the most exquisite experiences of my life.

HL: How long did it take you to agree to do it? I remember at first you were reluctant because it was a bit of a racy subject.

GA: When we first conceived the idea, I didn’t expect that I would be the one undergoing the revelation. So, I was reluctant to become so vulnerable and transparent on film regarding a subject that is so taboo. But I realized very quickly that in order to instruct any other woman—even if it’s just one other woman who happens to use this film to find her pleasure—I am going to have to sacrifice my privacy to a certain extent because secret-keeping is one of the most dangerous aspects of our inability to feel free and relax. So, to let that go was the key ingredient to finding sexual liberation.

HL: After experiencing your first directing gig, do you want to continue doing more of this?

GA: I think so—there are so many interesting subjects out there that need to be explored, and I would be honored to do that. There are so many things I would like to accomplish before my time is up. One of them is obviously filmmaking, but there are so many things that I am excited about doing.

HL: What are some of those things?

GA: I write. I am an avid writer and a prolific reader, so I am constantly being exposed to new information, which is exhilarating. I also am very involved in the local community of Coconut Grove where I live, and I hope the little project we’ve been working on will bring a pleasurable experience to as many people as possible and shed new light on the area—the city is going through somewhat of its own evolution right now.

HL: Aside from Once Upon a Time, what do you have going on for the coming year that you’re looking forward to?

GA: I am hoping to publish a novel that I have spent the last 13 years writing in between birthing babies, TV shows and getting married. It’s a bit of a controversial fiction novel—a love story that explores topics that have a stigma around society. It should be very interesting to see how it is received. And of course, I’m excited to premiere the show we’ve been working so hard on. It’s a reboot, so I hope we are embraced—looking forward to finding out!

#gabrielle anwar #gabrielle anwar interview #cast interviews #november 2017 #rapunzel tremaine

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literarymerritt · 7 years ago

Photo

“Shh. Do you remember?”

Gold eyes bore into yours, and you think starlight. warmth. His hair tickles your skin, and you think wings. Your eyes widen.

“My name is Keiji,” spills out of your mouth, and a smile blooms on Bokuto’s face. He leans back, but you hold fast to his hand. “How did you do that? How did I forget? How did you remember?”

“I don’t know.” He tilts his head, glancing towards the forest. “Kuroo says Fukurodani claims your name when you stay, but...” He looks back at you. “I remember yours.”

Here are my entries for the HQ Ghibli Zine project, a BokuAka Spirited Away AU!! I had the honor of collaborating with the precious and BRILLIANTLY TALENTED @puddingcatbae!! She wrote an incredible fic for this AU which you can read here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10917234

It was so much fun to work on this project!! ( ^ w ^ ) You should check out the other talented artists and writers involved at hq-ghibli-zine.tumblr.com and keep your eyes peeled for a possible PDF compilation of our work~!! ♡

#hq ghibli zine #bokuto koutarou #akaashi keiji #bokuaka #haikyuu!!#spirited away #au #literarymerritt #puddingcatbae #art #my art #merritt draws #writing #friend's writing #collab

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extraterrestrialmasquerade · 7 years ago

Text

Xogue’s Letter

Transmission Sent from Pyronian Homeworld to C’rululian Homeworld.

Hello C’Etherax,

I imagine I should be telling you this in person. But I don’t know when that will be and well…as you know I can’t leave things undone. I’ve never been one to wait.

First off, I am sorry for racing the night before the mission. It was stupid of me, I know. If I had gotten hurt then that would have prevented me from providing psionic back up during the raid, and I am aware that the Major may have chosen to just cancel the mission instead of doing a last minute switch. It was stupid. I know.

I am not upset that you yelled at me. I am upset that you insinuated that I am a part of the Empire’s StarForce solely for the adrenalin. It’s not true. And well…I guess the best way to start is at the beginning. When I was four years old I first started manifesting what my people call Silver Fever. On Pyronia it is believed that to be born under a triple full moon is bad luck. Or to be conceived under a triple full moon. Or to have your first in utero kick under a triple full moon. Or to sneeze under a….okay I am making the last one up. Anyhow Silver Fever is so named because it is believed to be caused by lunar interference. I know its hard for you, who were born and raised in the Empire, to understand that. But on Pyronia…education levels are low. People think differently.

I remember when I was four I was always buzzing around in at the Meeting of the Youth. I hated standing still. I also loved textures. I had to touch everything. Smooth. Rough. Heavy. Light. Slimy. Dry. Sticky. Smooth. They all fascinated me. Then randomly on certain days I couldn’t stand to touch anything. And, well, on the order and honor loving culture I was born in, this could cause…conflicts. One of the Youth Trainers beat me. I got kicked out of one Meeting for fighting. I wasn’t trying to be violent. I just got caught up in running and jumping and was so well..caught in the moment I couldn’t tell that the child I was roughhousing with wasn’t having fun with me. My reversals on wanting to touch everything one day and nothing the next were seen as insubordination.

I remember Uncle Zar coming over to my families house and I would be told “Run Xogue-re and play with your sister.” “-re” is is a term of endearment on our world, but when its said with a certain tone by your parents you know you are clandestinely being given an order.

Eventually things got so bad that they, at Uncle Zar’s prompting, were planning on doing an antennae-rectomy. You see the biological cause of Silver Fever is an imbalance in how our antennae relate to the rest of our nervous system. The brain expects more neural input then the antennae can give. The running, jumping texture exploring is all a way (even though we don’t realize it) to give neural feedback so that the brain feels like it is getting the stimulation we should get.

Sometimes when you aren’t able to move/jump/ride like your body wants to do it feels like you are about to be tickled but the tickle never comes. Other times it feels like a deep restlessness. Sometimes it is just feels like a deep sadness. I don’t know why it manifests the different ways it does. In my community the sorts of over the job athleticism we want to manifest is seeing as uncouth and even a threat to the family image. Cutting of the antennae convinces the brain that it should be receiving no input, thus correcting the problem. The side effects are life-long imbalance, the loss of any psionic gifts and life-long head pain. C’therax, I loved the high of climbing up the rocks over the cool mist of the ocean. I loved jumping from the trees to the icy river. I loved it when I snuck out on my good Uncle Rey’s motorcycle and felt the wind in my antennae…that was life for me. And the thought of that sharp blade cutting me, that I could only be a part of the community if part of my being was compromised…that was too much. So I ran out. And I even left a small prank ooze bomb behind in my room. I was young and angry. I guess I just wanted to leave one last invective behind at the family who hated me.

I lived as a lone wolf. I would take odd jobs. And even a few…undignified…ones. I would steel occasionally. I would participate frequently in illegal street races. I had a strong track record. It gave me some cash to live on. And then one day a competitor switched out the oil in my engine. It was a clever formula. For half the race my motorcycle ran just fine. Then half way through I could smell the burning and it smelled like a cross between vomit and roadkill. For my extrasensory senses it broke my concentration. When the engine gave out I didn’t have the wits to handle the out of control machine. I slid and crashed into the window of an apartment building and the bike landed on a man there.

I was dragged to court. My family, dishonored by what I was didn’t show up. Accept for my bad Uncle Zar who offered to let me off if I were to become a servant(?) (I am not sure what the word for it would be in your language) for him. I spat in his face. By the time a police officer drove us apart I had severely damaged one of his eyes. Neither my Uncle nor the officer pressed charges. The officer refrained because he saw my uncle was a repulsive creature and as for my Uncle…let’s just say he didn’t want the threat of shame if there was no…benefits shall we say?…from being involved. Besides my uncle thought I was going to rot in jail anyway.

The victim of the accident was in critical condition at the hospital and I found out we were a blood match which for our species means we are likely to be a match as well. I volunteered on the condition, and I know this will sound weird, that my donation be anonymous. Yes, it occurred to me that if I saved the man’s life the judge might be moved for a lighter sentence. But I didn’t want a lighter sentence. I hated my self. I hated my silver fever. I hated my life on the road. I hated not having a family. I wanted to suffer to, rot in prison to never see the sun set. So I gave an organ and planed for the man never to find out that I had donated it.

Well before my trial I saw one of the nurses walk up to him and whisper in his ear. At the trials opening he petitioned the judge for the trial to be delayed one week. It was the longest week of my life. When the trial resumed the man took the stand and said he had spent the week meditation upon the Immutable and recommended that I me let off “for reasons that are my own.”

And to my shock and horror the judge granted me amnesty. The word of my donation got out. The newspaper reporters flooded the courthouse like vultures. I was the topic of every social media outlet on that planet and all of its moons. Our story was an example of forgiveness and restoration. And oddly all this made me angry. The world had hated me when was on the streets. It had hated me when I was a young child struggling to understand the gift and curse of silver fever. But now after I had fallen to my lowest point, it wanted to parade me online next to the videos of cute animals and cheap DIY projects. It wanted to be inspired by me provided that I had no needs in return and just smiled and said the things the reporters wanted to hear.

I guess I should thank them though. There is a military base of the Empire’s StarForce near that courthouse. And one of the captains had Silver Fever. He came to me and offered me a life that would be anonymous (should I wish) and give me a chance to get away and start again and even to do some good. So I wrote a letter to the man who had let me off, thanking him and entered into the squad. After fighting for four years and rising rapidly through the ranks I chose to be a public bounty hunter. That brought fame yes, but it is a fame that I earned, not the result of feeling like I am in a zoo. And I always tell the story of how my antennae were almost cut off. Had that happened I would have lost my psionic powers and my sense of balance. My whole career would not have been possible. The reason why I race, why I crave the death defying stunts is not solely for fame and adrenalin C’Therax. I can’t deny that the adrenalin makes the pain I still feel go away. But I also know that there are Pyronian kids out there like me. Who need to run constantly. Who need push their psionics farther then other kids feel the need to. Who crave adrenalin, who are addicted to it and who want to know if they are just freaks or if there personality profile can be channeled into something good. So I collect bounties for the military and I run races. I want to show the world that Silver Fever is not something to be ashamed of, that it can be controlled. That it can, if used properly, be a force for good.

I am writing this to you because I believe that you will be the person to make the final decision on whether I am on the scouting mission to Earth. I know I can be a loose canon C’therax but so can you. And I want you to know that I serve this military with honor, and I would be honored to fight along side you on this most historic of missions. This is who I am C’therax. Whether you believe this letter is reason to accept or deny me, at least I can say that I said my piece.

#science fiction #aliens #letter #friend #antennae #life story #adrenaline

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